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NASHVILLE (April 3) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe today announced $19.7 million in broadband accessibility grants that will expand service to support 31,000 unserved Tennesseans in nearly 12,700 households and businesses.
During the November meeting of the Weakley County Commission, a General Fund budget resolution authorizing Weakley County Government to apply for a Community-Oriented Connectivity Broadband Grant Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service, and entering into a partnership with WK&T Telecommunications, was approved by a vote of 13 for, three against and one absent. The county will provide $1.5 million and and the state $2 million with WK&T building the project and servicing the program.
A requirement of the grant is that WK&T Telecommunications must provide a community center to give county residents free access to computer terminals and wi-fi internet. However, the resolution requires Weakley County to staff the community center for 40 hours per week - before, during and after normal working hours, as well as a day on the weekend, to best address the specific needs of the community as outlined in grant requirements.
The build-out of fiber will serve the rural areas of Weakley County. Dresden and Martin already contracted with WK&T for fiber to every residence and business in those municipalities. Greenfield and Gleason have high-speed internet available through Charter.
In Carroll County, TEC will build fiber optics lines in the rural areas of McLemoresville and Buena Vista. Carroll County Electric will lease their dark fiber to connect the two geographic areas – one in west Carroll and the other in east Carroll. The $826,677 grants goes to TEC to extend the fiber in those rural areas.
Brent Fisher and Tim Loecher of TEC, a Mississippi-based company with voice and other services in Gibson County, Trezevant, Atwood and the town of Henry, identified the two areas that are determined to be “underserved” by a national map showing available internet.
Danny Brawner, manager of CCED said TEC will lease the department’s fiber and will add more revenue through “pole rental” for any new fiber lines TDS suspends on CCED’s poles. This is a TEC project and requires no funding from any local utility or government entity.
The company has two years to complete the project. The grant provides 50 percent of the $2 million project.
TEC hopes to expand in two additional phases in Carroll County. Phase 2 is south of Huntingdon along Highway 70 and Phase 3 is north of Huntingdon towards McKenzie. Overall, the entire project, assuming financial assistance through grants, is two to five years. In April 2020, federal Reconnect America grant funds will become available. Those grants are 90 percent and would pay the majority of the Phase 2 project.
Governor Lee said, “One of my top priorities is ensuring the success of rural Tennessee. With the assistance of these grants, communities across 21 counties will now have access to broadband that will aid in that success,” Lee said. “I applaud the efforts of these 17 broadband providers as they play a fundamental role in our efforts to boost rural communities throughout Tennessee.”
Senator John Stevens regarding the broadband grants in Senate District 24:
“Our district did extremely well in this round of grants with over $3.5 million,” said Senator John Stevens (R-Huntingdon). “Fast, reliable broadband has never been more important, whether it is for education, telemedicine or as an economic development tool. These grants will go far in getting our rural communities connected.”
The State continues to focus on expanding broadband access in rural areas. According to the FCC’s 2019 Broadband Deployment Report, nearly one in four rural Tennesseans lack access to broadband. In response, Gov. Lee has included $25 million in his fiscal year 2021 recommended budget to continue the grant program.
Tennessee’s broadband program has been recognized nationally for its efforts to expand broadband connectivity, most recently in a report by The Pew Charitable Trusts on “How States are Expanding Broadband Access.” The report highlights Tennessee’s investment in broadband infrastructure with a dedicated grant program and efforts to address adoption and digital literacy.
“With the leadership of Governor Lee and support of the General Assembly, we are able to position rural Tennessee to compete on a level playing field,” Rolfe said. “Since 2018, funds have been awarded to connect 34,000 Tennesseans to broadband, and we are proud that this round of funding will nearly double that amount.”
Grantees will provide $29.8 million in matching funds to complete the projects for a combined investment of $49.5 million across the state in this third year of the program. Infrastructure should be built out with customers able to sign up for service within two years of receiving the grant funds.
This round’s grant recipients include: