The purpose of this program is to provide rural residents with access to education, training, and health care resources via advanced telecommunication technologies. The intent of this program is to encourage and improve telemedicine services in rural areas through the use of telecommunications, computer networks, and related advanced technologies that can be utilized by students, teachers, medical professionals, and rural residents. Awards may be used for telecommunications-enabled information, audio and video equipment, and related advanced technologies that extend educational and medical applications into rural locations.
Project hubs may be located in rural or non-rural areas, but end-user sites must be located in rural areas. Projects that have non-fixed end-user sites, such as ambulance and home health care services, are scored in the evaluation according to the location of the hub or hubs used for the project. Refer to page 5 of the NOFA file for additional information.
Specifically, funds may be used for:
1) Acquiring, by lease or purchase, eligible equipment, such as:
- Computer hardware and software
- Audio and video equipment
- Computer network components
- Telecommunications terminal equipment
- Data terminal equipment
- Interactive audio/video equipment
- Inside wiring
2) Acquiring instructional programming that is a capital asset
- Providing technical assistance and instruction for using eligible equipment