(a) Grant funding may also be used to provide assistance to Title VI Awardees in the form of subsidized loans at such rates as the Agency will issue from time to time by notice in the Federal Register, or in the form of a payment assistance loan, which shall require no interest and principal payments or require nominal periodic payments as determined by the Agency and published in the Federal Register.
(b) Subsidized loans shall only be available to projects which will serve rural areas lacking access to service with speeds of at least 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream and meets any one of the priorities set forth in § 1738.105(a)(3)(i).
(c) The Agency may determine, at its sole discretion, to provide a payment assistance loan which shall require no interest and principal payments or such nominal payments as the Secretary determines to be appropriate. Such loans will only be provided to projects which will serve rural areas lacking access to service of speeds of 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream and meets any two of the priorities set forth in § 1738.105(a)(3)(i). When considering the authority to provide a payment assistance loan, the Agency will consider how such assistance will:
(1) Improve the Applicant's compliance with the commitments of the Agency's standard Award agreement, in addition to any additional requirements imposed by the Agency specific to the project;
(2) Promote the completion of the broadband project;
(3) Protect taxpayer resources; and
(4) Support the integrity of the Agency's broadband programs.
(d) The Agency and recipients of payment assistance loans must agree to specific milestones and objectives for the project which must be met, in addition to the other requirements of this part. Such terms may be amended by mutual agreement for good cause. Failure to meet the agreed upon terms, upon the Agency's determination that such failure was a direct result of the Awardee's own actions, may result in the Agency's request to the return of all, or any portion, of the grant funds used for the payment assistance loan.
(e) Additionally, Applicants with an associated loan under Title I and Title II of the RE Act and which are seeking any grant assistance under this part, are not eligible for a subsidized loan or payment assistance loans.