(KMZA)--USDA Rural Development is providing more than $3 million to bring high-speed internet access to Marshall and Washington Counties.

The announcement was made Thursday.

According to a release, Blue-Valley Tele-Communications will use the grant funding to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to connect 3,000 people, 255 businesses, 14 educational facilities and four farms to high-speed internet in the two counties.

Blue-Valley will make high-speed internet affordable by participating in the FCC's Affordable Connectivity Program.  

USDA Kansas State Director for Rural Development Christy Davis said high-speed internet is essential for success in education, healthcare, and business in the twenty-first century. She said federal funding makes it possible for communications companies, like Blue Valley Tele-Communications, to serve the state’s rural communities.