Rural Telephone Bank Loans
Published on AidPage by
IDILOGIC on Jun 24, 2005
Purpose of this program:
To provide supplemental financing to extend and improve telecommunications services in rural areas.
Possible uses and use restrictions...
Long-term loans to qualified organizations for the purpose of supplying and improving telecommunications services in rural areas.
Who is eligible to apply...
Borrowers, including those located in the U.S. Territories, or possessions which have received a loan or loan commitment under Section 201 of Rural Electrification Act or which have been certified by the Administrator as qualified to receive such a loan, are eligible to borrow from the Rural Telephone Bank.
Credentials/Documentation
None. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-87.
Note:This is a brief description of the credentials or documentation required prior to, or along with, an application for assistance.
About this section:
This section indicates who can apply to the Federal government for assistance and the criteria the potential applicant must satisfy.
For example, individuals may be eligible for research grants, and the criteria to be satisfied may be that they have a professional or scientific degree,
3 years of research experience, and be a citizen of the United States. Universities, medical schools, hospitals, or State and local governments may also be eligible.
Where State governments are eligible, the type of State agency will be indicated (State welfare agency or State agency on aging) and the criteria that they
must satisfy.
Certain federal programs (e.g., the Pell Grant program which provides grants to students) involve intermediate levels of application processing, i.e., applications
are transmitted through colleges or universities that are neither the direct applicant nor the ultimate beneficiary. For these programs,
the criteria that the intermediaries must satisfy are also indicated, along with intermediaries who are not eligible.
How to apply...
Application Procedure:
The completed loan application consists of 4 parts, an RUS Form 490, a market survey called Area Coverage Survey (ACS), and an Application for Telephone Loan or Loan Guarantee. Detailed information for applying is in 7 CFR Parts 1610 and 1737, available from RUS upon request. This is the same procedure used when applying for an RUS telephone loan. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-110.
Note: Each program will indicate whether applications are to be submitted to the Federal headquarters, regional or local office, or to a State or local government office.
Award Procedure:
Depending on the amount of the application, the Governor of the Rural Telephone Bank (who is also the Administrator of RUS), Assistant Administrator, or the appropriate Area Director, makes the final decision, based upon a finding that the loan is economically feasible and serves the purposes of the Rural Electrification Act. Borrowers and Members of Congress are notified of loan approval directly, and the public is notified through normal media communications.
Note: Grant payments may be made by a letter of credit, advance by Treasury check, or reimbursement by Treasury check.
Awards may be made by the headquarters office directly to the applicant, an agency field office, a regional office,
or by an authorized county office. The assistance may pass through the initial applicant for further distribution by
intermediate level applicants to groups or individuals in the private sector.
Deadlines and process...
Deadlines
Applications are processed on a first-come, first-serve basis throughout the fiscal year ending September 30.
Note:
When available, this section indicates the deadlines for applications to the funding agency which will
be stated in terms of the date(s) or between what dates the application should be received.
When not available, applicants should contact the funding agency for deadline information.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time
From 2 to 3 months.
Preapplication Coordination
Applicants must supply environmental impact information to determine whether an environmental impact assessment or an environmental impact statement will be required. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372 and OMB Circular No. A-102.
Note:
This section indicates whether any prior coordination or approval is required with governmental or nongovernmental units
prior to the submission of a formal application to the federal funding agency.
Appeals
Not applicable.
Note:
In some cases, there are no provisions for appeal. Where applicable, this section discusses appeal procedures or allowable rework time for resubmission
of applications to be processed by the funding agency. Appeal procedures vary with individual programs and are either listed in this section or
applicants are referred to appeal procedures documented in the relevant Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
Renewals
Not applicable.
Note:
In some instances, renewal procedures may be the same as for the application procedure, e.g., for projects of a non-continuing nature renewals will be treated as new, competing applications; for projects of an ongoing nature, renewals may be given annually.
Who can benefit...
Residents of rural areas, and others who receive telecommunications service resulting from service provided to rural areas.
Beneficiaries
About this section:
This section lists the ultimate beneficiaries of a program, the criteria they must satisfy and who specifically is not eligible. The applicant and beneficiary will generally be the same for programs that provide assistance directly from a Federal agency. However, financial assistance that passes through State or local governments will have different applicants and beneficiaries since the assistance is transmitted to private sector beneficiaries who are not obligated to request or apply for the assistance.
What types of assistance...
Direct Loans
Financial assistance provided through the lending of Federal monies for a specific period of time, with a reasonable expectation of repayment. Such loans may or may not require the payment of interest.
How much financial aid...
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
FY 02 $169,050 to $35,918,400. Average: $5,468,728.
Note:
This section lists the representative range (smallest to largest) of the amount of financial assistance available. These figures are based upon funds awarded in the past fiscal year and the current fiscal year to date. Also indicated is an approximate average amount of awards which were made in the past and current fiscal years.
Obligations
(Direct Loans) FY 03 $168,000,000; FY 04 est $174,000,000; and FY 05 est $0.
Note:
The dollar amounts listed in this section represent obligations for the past fiscal year (PY), estimates for the current fiscal year (CY), and estimates for the budget fiscal year (BY) as reported by the Federal agencies. Obligations for non-financial assistance programs indicate the administrative expenses involved in the operation of a program.
Account Identification
12-1231-0-1-452; 12-4231-0-3-452.
Note:
Note: This 11-digit budget account identification code represents the account which funds a particular program.
This code should be consistent with the code given for the program area as specified in Appendix III of the Budget of the United States Government.
Examples of funded projects...
Not applicable.
About this section
This section indicates the different types of projects which have been funded in the past. Only projects funded under Project Grants or Direct Payments for Specified Use should be listed here. The examples give potential applicants an idea of the types of projects that may be accepted for funding. The agency should list at least five examples of the most recently funded projects.
Program accomplishments...
During fiscal year 2002, 32 borrowers received loans.
Criteria for selecting proposals...
Not applicable.
Assistance considerations...
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
Loans can be made for up to 35 years (average loan maturity is 18 yrs). Provision is normally made for advances to be completed within 5 years, but this period is subject to extension if required. Advances of loan funds are made as required by the borrower.
Formula and Matching Requirements
Obtaining a Rural Telephone Bank loan will require obtaining a concurrent RUS telephone loan. The statistical factor used for eligibility is any area of the United States not within the boundaries of any city, village or borough having a population over 5,000 (farm and nonfarm) and the source is the 1990 Decennial Census. The statistical factor used for fund allocation does not apply to this program.
Note:
A formula may be based on population, per capita income, and other statistical factors. Applicants are informed whether there are any matching requirements to be met when participating in the cost of a project. In general, the matching share represents that portion of the project costs not borne by the Federal government. Attachment F of OMB Circular No. A-102 (Office of Management and Budget) sets forth the criteria and procedures for the evaluation of matching share requirements which may be cash or in-kind contributions made by State and local governments or other agencies, institutions, private organizations, or individuals to satisfy matching requirements of Federal grants or loans.
Cash contributions represent the grantees' cash outlay, including the outlay of money contributed to the grantee by other public agencies, institutions, private organizations, or individuals. When authorized by Federal regulation, Federal funds received from other grants may be considered as the grantees' cash contribution.
In-kind contributions represent the value of noncash contributions provided by the grantee, other public agencies and institutions, private organizations or individuals. In-kind contributions may consist of charges for real property and equipment, and value of goods and services directly benefiting and specifically identifiable to the grant program. When authorized by Federal legislation, property purchased with Federal funds may be considered as grantees' in-kind contribution.
Maintenance of effort (MOE) is a requirement contained in certain legislation, regulations, or administrative policies stating that a grantee must maintain a specified level of financial effort in a specific area in order to receive Federal grant funds, and that the Federal grant funds may be used only to supplement, not supplant, the level of grantee funds.
Post assistance requirements...
Reports
Each Bank loan recipient must submit to RUS regularly scheduled operating reports showing financial condition and operating progress.
Note:
This section indicates whether program reports, expenditure reports, cash reports or performance monitoring are required by the Federal funding agency, and specifies at what time intervals (monthly, annually, etc.) this must be accomplished.
Audits
In accordance with the provisions of OMD Circular No. A- 133 (Revised, June 27, 1997), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations, nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $500,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133. All other borrowers have their books audited annually by a Certified Public Accountant. The information on audits of RUS borrowers is in 7 CFR, Part 1773.
Note:
This section discusses audits required by the Federal agency.
The procedures and requirements for State and local governments and nonprofit entities are set forth in OMB Circular No. A-133.
These requirements pertain to awards made within the respective State's fiscal year - not the Federal fiscal year,
as some State and local governments may use the calendar year or other variation of time span designated as the fiscal year period,
rather than that commonly known as the Federal fiscal year (from October 1st through September 30th).
Records
Each recipient must keep records prescribed for telephone companies by the State regulatory body having jurisdiction, or by the Federal Communications Commission if there is no such regulatory body.
Note:
This section indicates the record retention requirements and the type of records the Federal agency may require.
Not included are the normally imposed requirements of the General Accounting Office.
For programs falling under the purview of OMB Circular No. A-102, record retention is set forth in Attachment C.
For other programs, record retention is governed by the funding agency's requirements.
Regulations...
Authorization
Rural Electrification Act of 1936, as amended, Title IV, 7 U.S.C. 921a, 921b and 941-950b.
Note:
This section lists the legal authority upon which a program is based (acts, amendments to acts, Public Law numbers, titles, sections, Statute Codes, citations to the U.S. Code, Executive Orders, Presidential Reorganization Plans, and Memoranda from an agency head).
Regulations, Guidelines, And Literature
CFR-XVI. To the extent possible, the Rural Telephone Bank will be covered by regulations, guidelines, and literature of the Rural Utilities Service telephone loan program. RUS publishes and issues upon request technical operations manuals and bulletins covering financing, construction, operation, and maintenance of rural telephone systems. There are available annual statistical summaries; and Rural Electrification Act of 1936, as amended.