(KNZA)--USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Xochitl Torres-Small visited J.B.N. Telephone Company in Holton on Thursday to announce a $6.3 million grant to provide high-speed internet access to eight counties in Kansas and Nebraska.

According to a release, USDA is making the investment through the third funding round of the ReConnect program.

The grant will be used to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network. The network will connect 704 people, 17 businesses, and 225 farms to high-speed internet in Jackson, Nemaha, Pottawatomie, Republic, Washington, and Riley counties in northern Kansas as well as Jefferson and Thayer counties in southeast Nebraska.

The release says J.B.N Telephone will make high-speed internet affordable by participating in the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity and Lifeline programs. It will provide low-income consumers who qualify, a monthly service credit up to $30.

“High-speed internet is essential for success in education, healthcare, and business in the twenty-first century,” said Christy Davis, USDA Kansas State Director for Rural Development. “Federal funding makes it possible for communications companies, like J. B. N. Telephone, to serve our state’s rural communities.”