USDA ReConnect Fiber Engineering Services
Draftech prepares broadband grant applications and the engineering exhibits behind them in-house.
One team for the application and its engineering
Draftech delivers USDA ReConnect fiber engineering services, including application preparation. We prepare the high-level design (HLD), service-area map, cost estimate, applicable RUS-format exhibits and grant application. You have a single point of accountability for the application and its engineering basis. Draftech's in-house engineering experience includes 2.6M+ addresses engineered and 44,000+ route miles designed.
This page covers ReConnect, state broadband grants and engineering for providers that already hold RDOF support. For BEAD-funded projects, visit our BEAD Broadband Engineering hub.
We work with fiber ISPs, rural electric cooperatives, municipalities, tribal entities and other broadband providers. Application and engineering work is performed in-house, so the people describing the project can resolve questions directly with the people designing it.
Keep the narrative, map and estimate aligned
When engineering is prepared separately from the grant-writing effort, or not prepared at all, the numbers in the narrative can drift from the numbers on the map. The narrative's location count no longer matches the locations inside the mapped service area, route miles in the HLD differ from the miles priced in the estimate, and the narrative's project cost differs from the estimate total. A required exhibit is missing or arrives in the wrong format. Each document may look finished on its own while the combined package remains inconsistent.
ReConnect and state grant programs accept applications by a fixed deadline and score them as submitted. Unresolved differences weaken the application and can lead to requests for correction while the deadline approaches. The applicant then has to reconcile documents that were prepared separately, often when its staff should be reviewing the complete submission.
Draftech develops the application narrative alongside the design and estimate. We resolve scope questions across the package before finalizing its parts.
What our USDA ReConnect fiber engineering services deliver
The deliverables follow the specific program and project stage. Application work applies to ReConnect and state grant opportunities; existing RDOF support holders engage us for deployment engineering tied to their commitments.
- Application-ready network design and service-area map. An HLD and map that establish the engineering scope presented in the application.
- Cost estimate from the mapped scope. An engineering estimate for the proposed network.
- RUS-format broadband exhibit package. For RUS-assisted programs, the engineering exhibits are assembled in the applicable format. Draftech brings RUS-format package experience to the broadband grant exhibit set and reviews the specific program requirements at the start.
- The grant application itself. Draftech prepares the application and its narrative using the applicant's project information.
- Progress reporting support after award. Draftech supplies the engineering and build-status inputs for the applicant's progress reports.
For technical depth behind the design deliverable, see our guide to fiber network HLD for USDA ReConnect projects. Our RUS engineering guide explains the program-specific standards and forms separately.
How we prepare the package
Establish the program and deadline
We review the specific program's requirements, the submission deadline and the materials you already have. Your team identifies the proposed service area, existing application work and the people responsible for supplying applicant information. Together, we establish the deliverables and review sequence so engineering preparation and application preparation follow the same schedule.
This first review also identifies unresolved inputs. Your team must decide the proposed service area and identify which existing materials describe the project it intends to put forward. A draft narrative, an available map or a preliminary estimate may be the starting point; the program review establishes what remains to be prepared.
Develop one reconciled scope
Your team supplies the proposed service area and available project materials, then Draftech develops the network design and cost estimate from a common project scope. The application writer uses that engineering basis to prepare the narrative. We lock the scope after the applicant's project decisions are resolved and before finalizing the package.
Assemble exhibits and narrative together
We assemble the exhibits required by the program and complete the application narrative. The initial program review determines whether this includes an RUS-format broadband exhibit set.
Your staff remains involved in applicant decisions and the information it supplies. Draftech owns preparation of the agreed application and engineering deliverables; the applicant reviews the completed package and submits it. We plan that handoff ahead of the program deadline so applicant review is part of the engagement from the beginning.
At the outset, identify who on your team will review the package and when they will be available before the deadline. Their review should confirm that the application describes the project the applicant intends to pursue and that the applicant information supplied is ready for use.
Continue engineering support after award
The application engineering record remains the reference for post-award support, with the scope of that support established for the award. Your reporting team retains responsibility for its reports and certifications.
For reporting procedures, use our guide to USDA ReConnect construction progress reporting.
RDOF fiber deployment engineering for existing support holders
Draftech provides RDOF fiber deployment engineering services for providers that won support in the FCC's completed RDOF auction and now need to design and build to their committed locations. This engagement starts with the provider's existing obligations and project information.
A design can miss committed locations or reach them in a way the estimate cannot support. Draftech reviews the committed-location list against the locations served by the proposed design and examines the engineering estimate for that deployment.
An existing support holder may have a developed design, partial planning materials or unresolved engineering work. We review that starting point before defining the engagement. For providers choosing an OSP engineering company for RDOF projects, the initial review establishes which design and estimate work is still needed to address their committed locations.
Inputs for application engineering
Fiber network design for grant applications begins with a proposed project that is ready to develop into an HLD. If you are still choosing the route, fiber route engineering covers the earlier planning stage.
When the application needs evidence of unserved areas, broadband coverage mapping provides that mapping deliverable. We identify how the available evidence fits the application package without treating a service-area design map as a substitute for coverage evidence.
Cooperatives planning fiber on their own poles can also use our electric cooperative broadband engineering services. That design scope supports the co-op's network; this engagement covers the grant application and broadband exhibits.
USDA ReConnect Fiber Engineering Services FAQ
Does Draftech write the grant application or only supply drawings?
Draftech prepares the grant application itself as well as the engineering exhibits for ReConnect and state broadband grant programs. The applicant reviews and submits the completed package.
Can you work with an application we have already started?
Yes. We review the application material and engineering work already available, then define the remaining preparation work. The current narrative, map, estimate and program requirements establish the starting point.
Is an RUS-format package included for every project?
No. An RUS-format exhibit set applies to RUS-assisted programs such as ReConnect. A state broadband grant program sets its own exhibit requirements, and the package follows them.
What does post-award progress reporting support include?
Engineering and build-status inputs only. Cost tracking, federal financial reporting and procurement documentation belong with your grant administrator or CPA; Draftech does not provide them.
What should we provide to scope the work?
Bring the program name, applicable deadline, proposed service area and any current design, estimate or application materials. Existing RDOF support holders should provide their committed-location information and current engineering status.
Can Draftech guarantee that an application will be funded?
No. The program makes every funding decision and scores each application against its own criteria. What Draftech controls is the package itself: a complete application and the engineering exhibits behind it, prepared in-house and delivered in time for your team's review before the deadline.
Plan your application engineering engagement
Bring Draftech your program requirements and current project materials. Contact our team to discuss the scope and deadline.