**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** RESIDENTIAL AND BUSINESS USERS IN LOW-DENSITY AREAS OF THE COUNTRY HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE SAME HIGH QUALITY, HIGH-SPEED SERVICES OFFERED TO URBAN USERS DUE IN PART TO THE COST OF DEPLOYING FIBER AND EXISTING WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES ACROSS LONG DISTANCES. DESPITE REDUCTIONS IN THE COST OF FIBER BACKHAUL AND WIRELESS EQUIPMENT, HIGH DEPLOYMENT, OPERATIONS, AND MAINTENANCE COSTS TO REACH LOW-DENSITY AREAS CONTINUE TO PRESENT HIGHER COST-PER-BIT FOR BROADBAND SERVICES AND MORE LIMITED ACCESS THAN IN URBAN REGIONS. A MAJOR GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO BUILD A LARGE-SCALE, NEXT GENERATION, WIRELESS, RESEARCH TESTBED FOCUSED ON IDENTIFYING WAYS TO REDUCE THE COST OF BROADBAND DELIVERY TO RURAL COMMUNITIES.THAT MEANS THAT THE RURAL PLATFORM MUST APPLY NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO TRANSFORM NETWORKS IN RURAL AND OTHER LOW-DENSITY GEOGRAPHIC AREAS IN AN EFFICIENT AND AFFORDABLE WAY. AS A LARGE-SCALE TESTBED, THE RURAL PLATFORM WILL TARGET ACADEMIC AND INDUSTRY RESEARCHERS, ENGINEERS, APPLICATION DEVELOPERS,AND END-USERS OF ADVANCED WIRELESS AND APPLICATION SYSTEMS AS PROSPECTIVE USERS. THESE US-BASED RESEARCHERS WILL BE PROVIDED REMOTE ACCESS TO THE RURAL PLATFORM. SINCE THERE IS LIKELY TO BE MULTIPLE TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS TO REDUCING THE COST, PLATFORM USERS/RESEARCHERS WILL HAVE THE OPTION AND ABILITY TO ADD THEIR OWN DEVICES TO TEST AND EVALUATE. TO DO SO, THE RURAL PLATFORM WILL FEATURE ARCHITECTURAL FLEXIBILITY AND DESIGN DIVERSITY TO SUPPORT NOVEL SOLUTIONS. IT IS EXPECTED THAT THE DATA COLLECTED (E.G., SPEED, BANDWIDTH, COSTS, ETC.) FROM THE RURAL PLATFORM WILL BE AN INVALUABLE RESOURCE FOR RESEARCHERS, EDUCATORS, AND GRADUATE/UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ACROSS THE NATION, AS WELL HELPING TO INCREASE US-BASED WIRELESS EXPERTISE. IT IS ALSO EXPECTED THAT THE RURAL PLATFORM WILL ENABLE EXPERIMENTATION FOR WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS AUTONOMOUS IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT, CONNECTED AND AUTOMATED AGRICULTURAL VEHICLES, AGRICULTURAL AND FIELD ROBOTS, PRECISION ANIMAL MONITORING, AND AUGMENTED AND VIRTUAL REALITY RURAL EDUCATION TO REVOLUTIONIZE AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES AND TO PROVIDE BASIC COMMUNITY SERVICES IN RURAL COMMUNITIES. THE OVERALL SOCIETAL BENEFIT IS FINDING AFFORDABLE OPTIONS, INCREASING ACCESSIBILITY, AND PROVIDING BETTER ACCESS TO ESSENTIAL WEB-BASED SERVICES IN RURAL COMMUNITIES.