Government Programs

In the United States, there are a myriad of government programs that can partially or fully subsidize the construction of your network. The catch is that these are generally slow, complex programs. They have set application windows, so you have to hunt for programs whose windows are currently open. Then they have long (6 month to a year) decision windows when you are waiting to hear about your application after your submission. They generally favor existing companies rather than new organizations. Indeed, a lot of them are set up to subsidize existing telcos rather than fund actual communities.

My recommendation would be to delegate chasing down these subsidy programs to someone on your team and go through the application process, but to not rely on the funding source. You can generally fund your project long term through monthly connection fees. Without a subsidy, it would just mean a longer loan term or a larger monthly connection fee.

Other areas of the world also have government subsidy programs and you should research your particular area to see if there is something applicable.