Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 116 Part 1.djvu/442

 116 STAT. 416 PUBLIC LAW 107-171—MAY 13, 2002 service to originate and receive high-quality voice, data, graphics, and video. "(2) ELIGIBLE RURAL COMMUNITY. —The term 'eligible rural community' means any incorporated or unincorporated place that— "(A) has not more than 20,000 inhabitants, based on the most recent available population statistics of the Bureau of the Census; and "(B) is not located in an area designated as a standard metropolitan statistical area. "(c) LOANS AND LOAN GUARANTEES.— "(1) IN GENERAL.— The Secretary shall make or guarantee loans to eligible entities described in subsection (d) to provide funds for the construction, improvement, or acquisition of facilities and equipment for the provision of broadband service in eligible rural communities. "(2) PRIORITY.—In making or guaranteeing loans under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give priority to eligible rural communities in which broadband service is not available to residential customers. " (d) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES. — "(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to obtain a loan or loan guarantee under this section, an entity shall— "(A) have the ability to furnish, improve, or extend a broadband service to an eligible rural community; and "(B) submit to the Secretary a proposal for a project that meets the requirements of this section. "(2) STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—^A State or local government (including any agency, subdivision, or instrumentality thereof (including consortia thereof)) shall be eligible for a loan or loan guarantee under this section to provide broadband services to an eligible rural community only if, not later than 90 days after the Administrator has promulgated regulations to carry out this section, no other eligible entity is already offering, or has committed to offer, broadband services to the eligible rural community. "(3) SUBSCRIBER LINES.— An entity shall not be eligible to obtain a loan or loan guarantee under this section if the entity serves more than 2 percent of the telephone subscriber lines installed in the aggregate in the United States. "(e) BROADBAND SERVICE.— The Secretary shall, from time to time as advances in technology warrant, review and recommend modifications of rate-of-data transmission criteria for purposes of the identification of broadband service technologies under subsection (b)(1). "(f) TECHNOLOGICAL NEUTRALITY.— For purposes of determining whether or not to make a loan or loan guarantee for a project under this section, the Secretary shall use criteria that are technologically neutral. "(g) TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR LOANS AND LOAN GUARAN- TEES. — Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a loan or loan guarantee under subsection (c) shall— "(1) bear interest at an annual rate of, as determined by the Secretary— "(A) in the case of a direct loan—

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