Construction paid for with broadband loan funds must comply with 7 CFR part 1788, the environmental review requirements in accordance with 7 CFR part 1970, RUS Bulletin 1738-2, and any other guidance from the Agency.
Once the Agency has extended a loan offer, the applicant, at its own risk, may start construction that is included in the loan application on an interim financing basis. For this construction to be eligible for reimbursement with loan funds, all construction procedures contained in this part must be followed. Note, however, that the Agency's extension of a loan offer is not a guarantee that a loan will be made, unless and until a loan contract has been entered into between the applicant and RUS.
The build-out must be complete within three years and 4 months from the date of the loan contract. Build-out is considered complete when the network design has been fully implemented, the service operations and management systems infrastructure is operational, and the borrower is ready to support the activation and commissioning of individual customers to the new system.