Grant Details

The Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Grant Program is designed to provide access to education, training, and healthcare resources for rural Americans. The DLT program provides financial assistance to encourage and improve telemedicine and distance learning services in rural areas through the use of telecommunications, computer networks, and related advanced technologies that students, teachers, medical professionals, and rural residents can use. Grants may be used to fund telecommunications-enabled information, audio and video equipment, and related advanced technologies which extend educational and medical applications into rural areas. Grants are intended to benefit end users in rural areas, who are often not in the same location as the source of the educational or health care service.

The DLT program is legislatively authorized to provide the following kinds of financial assistance:

• 100% grant;

The DLT Grant Program is primarily focused on providing equipment that operates via telecommunications to rural end-users of telemedicine and distance learning. It is useful to keep in mind that while the equipment is eligible, it does not fund the telecommunications that connects that equipment. DLT does not fund communications links between sites (wireless or wire-line) and it does not fund telecommunications or Internet connections. Grants (and eligible matching funds) can be expended only for the costs associated with the initial capital assets associated with the project.

There are five categories of eligible purposes:

• Acquiring and installing, by lease or purchase, eligible equipment. If leased, the cost of the lease during the three-year life of the grant is eligible. The application must demonstrate both that the predominant purpose (50% or more of use) of every line-item in the grant and match budget meets the DLT Grant definition of distance learning and/or telemedicine. Examples of eligible equipment include:
  • Computer hardware and software
  • Interactive audio and video equipment
  • Computer networking components
  • Telecommunications terminal equipment
  • Data terminal equipment
  • Inside wiring
  • Cyber security software directly related to the funded project
  • Patient monitoring equipment with interactive capabilities
  • Headsets, including virtual reality headsets, when they are essential for delivering medical care or education (quantity limited to the number of end-user devices purchased)
  • Protective items that will be for end-user equipment including tablet covers, secure storage, equipment cases for portable equipment, etc., are also eligible.
  • Devices that will transmit images to a hub for reading or diagnosis
  • Training simulators, including smart manikins
  • Video conferencing platform licenses directly related to the funded project. Note: The cost of the license must not exceed ten percent of the requested grant amount and the duration of the license is limited to three years from the date funds are made available. Video conferencing platform licenses must also be new, and the number of video conferencing platform licenses requested may not exceed the number of end user devices requested in the application
• Purchases of extended warranties, site licenses, and maintenance contracts, for a period not to exceed 3 years from installation date, provided that such purchases are in support of eligible equipment included in the project and made concurrently.
• Acquiring or developing instructional programming that is a capital asset, including the purchase or lease of instructional programming already on the market. Instructional programming and course material for teaching (including teaching components such as robots, drones, etc.) are eligible. Note: Renewals of instructional programming are not eligible nor is classroom equipment (such as laboratory equipment). Also, expenses such as those for tuition, fees for coursework on a per course basis, or fees for cultural events or virtual field trips are not capital assets and therefore, are not eligible. Additionally, salaries, benefits, and overhead of medical, educational, or any personnel employed by the applicant shall not be included. The funded development and acquisition of instructional programming must be done through an independent third party and may not be performed using the applicant's employees.
• Providing technical assistance and instruction for using eligible equipment, including any related software, developing instructional programming for equipment use, and providing engineering or environmental studies relating to the establishment or expansion of the phase of the project to be financed with the grant. The costs for this category cannot exceed 10% of the grant amount requested.
• Purchasing and installing broadband facilities. This purpose is limited to a maximum of 20% of the requested grant amount. All broadband facilities must be owned by the applicant and must be used for providing distance learning or telemedicine services. 

The following purposes are considered ineligible grant purposes:

• To pay for medical or educational equipment not having telemedicine or distance learning as its essential function; including telephone systems.
• To pay for Electronic Medical Records (EMS) systems.
• To pay salaries, wages, or employee benefits to medical or educational personnel;
• To pay for the salaries or administrative expenses of the applicant or the project;
• To purchase equipment that will be owned by the local exchange carrier or another telecommunications service provider unless that service provider is the applicant.
• To pay for computer software for general use including operating systems, scheduling software, records retention software, etc.;
• To pay for disposable items including electrode strips, diabetic test strips, alcohol pads, lancets, masks, gloves, etc., unless these items are included with the purchase of eligible equipment;
• To pay for furniture including desks, lecterns, or specialty furniture even if they are to be used with eligible grant equipment;
• To pay for general office equipment including printers, telephone systems, etc.;
• To pay for miscellaneous items including black-out curtains, specialty lighting, and tripods;
• To pay for service agreements that are considered administrative expenses including educational services, medical services, network monitoring, project monitoring/management, scheduling, etc. Note: Service agreements for equipment installation remain eligible.
• To pay for vehicles;
• To duplicate facilities providing distance learning or telemedicine services in place or to reimburse the applicant or others for costs incurred prior to RUS' receipt of the completed application;
• To pay costs of preparing the application package for financial assistance under this program; 
• For projects whose sole objective is to provide links between teachers and students or between medical professionals who are located at the same facility or campus environment;
• For site development and the destruction or alteration of buildings;
• For the purchase of land, buildings, or building construction;
• For projects located in areas covered by the Coastal Barrier Resources Act;
• For any purpose that the Administrator has not specifically approved; 
• To pay the cost of recurring or operating expenses for the project including but not limited to broadband connection fees

Further, grant funds shall not be used to finance a project, in part, when the success of the project is dependent upon the receipt of additional financial assistance under DLT or is dependent upon the receipt of other financial assistance that is not assured.

Because this program is intended to fund end-user equipment at specifically identified sites, applications which propose to provide only web-based services which are universally available are ineligible. This type of project does not have a defined service area and the beneficiaries can be located anywhere, including urban areas.