 Thanks for checking this video out. Your mountaintop news video is coming up in just a minute. Did you know that it's going to be watched thousands of times, shared a bunch of times, likes, comments, you name it, it's going to be there? Why is it your ad here? Call me. The ReConnect Loan and Grant program, a federal program which offers funding to eligible rural areas in need of improved broadband services, is currently taking applications for its third round of funding. With more than $1 billion in total funding available, rural communities across the country are welcome and encouraged to apply for funds that would help to bring new broadband service projects to areas which lack consistent quality internet infrastructure. One of the primary voices seeking to bring attention to this need for our area is Colby Hall, executive director of the SOAR program of Pikeville. We caught up with Hall on Wednesday afternoon to find out more about what our community can do to take advantage of this program. The ReConnect program is offered by the Rural Utility Service, R-U-S, which is a department or division underneath the United States Department of Agriculture. The ReConnect program itself is a funding program to stimulate broadband deployment in rural areas. For Hall, the time to take advantage of programs like ReConnect is now, especially considering the recent changes made to the program this year, which would require that new broadband services deployed as a result of this funding would operate at minimum speeds on par with the largest cities in the nation. So for new projects and new applications, proposed service has to be 100-100. That's also important because what that means is, you know, this is going to eliminate providers or new projects to be able to offer, quite frankly, substandard service. It's got to meet 100 megs down, 100 megs up. You know, for any provider looking to put fiber in, which is the cream of the crop, which is the best technology, future-proof technology, they're going to meet that easy, right? Because the speeds for fiber are, well, technically it's infinity. We haven't figured out exact so, but it's definitely going to meet that threshold, which is really important. We're going to make sure that these funds are going to go to projects that are putting in technology that's going to offer functional internet so that a premise, if they receive it, right, they're going to be able to do health care, to work, education, stream. They're going to be able to use the internet like anybody else would in a larger area. That's really important. So along with the 120-floor, new service has to meet the 100-100 symmetrical. There's going to be more money coming behind this, but this is the most pressing, the most urgent, closest to the fund-specific broadband project. So it's a good one, and like I said before, we need to make sure that Eastern Kentucky communities have their hands out and are ready to receive. While SOAR doesn't have any direct involvement with the ReConnect program, Hall hopes that his organization can help assist community residents and local leaders in taking the steps required in order to apply and receive funds such as these. Hall strongly urges anyone with an interest in getting this process started to reach out to SOAR for whatever assistance their organization can offer. Well, first I would say, if you're not sure, just reach out to us. I'm happy to set up a time to talk, to talk about how you get organized, but again, I go back to the Fiber Board, which is in Leslie County, for example, it's an extension of the fiscal court, kind of an advisory capacity, but that's the group that has set the vision and laid the foundation for what the community expects in connectivity and broadband. Talking about technologies, talking about speeds, talking about where it is, where it isn't, what's needed, reaching out to providers, being the intermediary between the fiscal court and the city hall. So I would say if somebody's listening, the very first step to talk, who is that group of digital champions in your community? For more information on SOAR, including their contact information, please visit their website at www.sore-ky.org. For Mountain Top News, I'm Joshua Sloan.