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RDUP Program

Since its founding, TelPlexus, Inc.™ has offered its customers assistance with the Rural Development Utilities Program (RDUP) or RUS loan program. The company's founder and a great number of the staff have been involved with the program for most of their careers.
The RDUP Program:

  • Electricity, telephone, water, and waste disposal services have been taken for granted in American cities since the 1920s. But if you lived in a rural area only 60 years ago, chances are you went without these necessities of modern life and the high standard of living they make possible.
  • Modern utilities came to rural America through some of the most successful government initiatives in American history, which were carried out through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) working with rural cooperatives, nonprofit associations, public bodies, and for-profit utilities. Today, USDA Rural Development Utilities Program (RDUP) carries on this tradition helping rural utilities expand and keep their technology up to date in addition to helping establish new and vital services such as distance learning and telemedicine.
  • The public-private partnership that is forged between RDUP and these industries results in billions of dollars in rural infrastructure development and creates thousands of jobs for the American economy.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the RDUP Broadband Loan Program?

    The Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program is a program offered by the Rural Development Utilities Program (RDUP) to encourage deployment of broadband telecommunications services to rural America. The primary goal is to ensure that rural consumers enjoy the same quality and range of telecommunications services that are available in urban communities.

  • What is the loan money used for?

    This program will provide loans for the construction, improvement, and acquisition of facilities and equipment to provide broadband services to eligible rural communities.

  • Is this program strictly for Telephone Companies?

    No, almost anyone can participate, including cooperative, nonprofit, limited dividend or mutual associations, limited liability companies, Indian tribes, and commercial organizations. State or local governments will be eligible for a broadband loan only if no one else has committed to offer broadband services to a particular rural community before May 2003.

  • What types of loans will be available?

    This program will offer three types of loans: Direct cost-of-money, Direct 4 percent, and Private lender.

  • Can these funds be used to overbuild an existing system?

    Yes, provided that the community to be served does not already have broadband services. If the incumbent telephone companies are not offering broadband services and no one has made a prior commitment to construct a broadband system, these funds can be used to overbuild a community.