VLCT points to COVID aid that may go to connectivity. From the article:
There are federal funds earmarked for increasing access to broadband in the CARES Act. For example,it provides $100 million to the U.S.Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect Loan and Grant program to help ensure rural 5| VLCT Weekly Legislative Report April 3, 2020Issue No. 13Americans have broadband access. The program offers federal financing and funding options in the form of loans, grants, and a combination of both loans and grants to facilitate broadband deployment in areas of rural America that do not currently have sufficient access to broadband. The act also provides $25 million to support USDA’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program to help improve distance learning and telemedicine in rural communities. Hundreds of millions of dollars may also be available to expand broadband access, however it’s less clear how much latitude states have to utilize those funds specifically for broadband deployment projects.”
https://www.vlct.org/sites/default/files/2020_weekly_legislative_report_13.pdf#page=1