The USF funds are distributed (at least partially) through the e-rate program that school districts can use to help fund communication infrastructure. The amount varies but is primarily influenced by how "poor" the district is. I've been involved with some districts in some extremely poor areas that had full gigabit (or more) fiber links between their schools and the district office and then out to the Internet. They get this money by applying through the e-rate grant process. I know of cases where the funding paid for 90% of the cost of installation.
It sounds like that portion of the program continued (after a period when now funds were disbursed) but I had moved onto another company before that happened. And yes, poor districts had an advantage ... we built systems primarily in rural and urban areas, but very few in suburban areas. Those rural areas were poor due to low population density, while the urban areas were poor due to demographics.
