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Almost every aspect of life depends on internet access.
Children’s school work. Communication between family members. Access to telehealth medicine. Even checking your work email from home.
But in rural parts of Tennessee, one in six people do not have access to high-speed broadband internet service. That’s according to the Federal Communications Commission’s 2020 broadband deployment report.
Infrastructure investments spearheaded by federal and state grant programs are working to change that. The latest: A new, $20 million “middle mile” broadband grant from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will pay for a 155-mile fiber cable line in rural counties in east Tennessee.
Tennessee counties impacted by the new fiber cable project include Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, Hawkins, Sullivan and Union — all near the state’s eastern border. The grant program prioritizes rural communities with the least access to internet.
No wonder Mike Byrd, the mayor of Grainger County, said words can’t describe what a difference high-speed internet can make on the lives of the people in his community.
“I would encourage all politicians to work towards expanding the broadband out into the rural markets,” Byrd said of his county of 24,000 residents.
“It’s unbelievable the difference it can make.”
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Byrd and Sullivan County Mayor Richard Venable said expanded access to high-speed internet is life-changing for rural residents who are sometimes burdened with high costs or left with no options.
Venable said without continued expansion of broadband, people are sometimes forced to shell out enormous sums for satellite and other internet sources. But when internet is necessary for school and work, residents sometimes have no choice.
“We’ve had some horror stories of people having to pay lots to get access,” Venable said. “Kids are going home with homework today that requires they have internet access.”
About the grant program
In 2021, President Joe Biden and Congress allocated $65 billion for broadband expansion as part of the infrastructure-investment package.
The local grant is part of the Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program, a $1 billion push to help communities fill gaps in high-speed internet infrastructure. Since 2018, $566.6 million in federal and state broadband grants have been awarded.
Virginia-based Blue Ridge Advisory Services Group was hired to execute the project in Tennessee and Virginia for the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
Alan Davidson, assistant secretary of commerce for the Communications and Information and National Telecommunications and Information Administration, said the $1 billion grant program has received applications valued at more than seven times its worth.
“It shows how much demand and opportunity there is to build out these networks,” Davidson said.
“(Lack of) internet service in east Tennessee through southeast Virginia would not likely change without this federal program.”
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This month, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development will begin accepting applications for new middle-mile and last-mile internet service projects.
The state will begin accepting applications this month for $185 million in grants to accelerate internet connections in unserved and underserved areas.
“As Tennessee continues to experience record economic growth and job creation, we’re committed to furthering our administration-wide mission to expand opportunity in rural and underserved communities across our state,” Gov. Bill Lee said.
Expanded broadband in Middle and West Tennessee
Recent investments are part of a large plan to improve access across the state. The effort has tapped American Rescue Plan dollars and other funds to jumpstart improvements in rural parts of Middle and West Tennessee over the past year.
Lee touted investments for expanded broadband in Middle Tennessee earlier this year, calling it a “local effort.”
Local governments in Williamson, Bedford, Franklin, Giles, Lincoln, Marshall, Maury and Moore counties were required to contribute their own funds — totaling $77 million — to receive American Rescue Plan grants totaling $54 million aimed directly at expanding broadband access in rural areas of those Middle Tennessee counties.
Lee said it was one of the largest grants issued in state history. It was made possible through partnership between local and state governments, he said.
Project UNITE, led by United Communications (part of Middle Tennessee Electric), will use $14 million of the total grant money to bridge digital divides in Williamson County specifically. The rural western area of the county is the region most in need of expanded access, representatives of United Communications said.
Lee in October visited Jackson, Tennessee, to speak about the $80 million in investments being deployed in western Tennessee counties to expand broadband access.
“What happens in rural Tennessee really matters to every Tennessean. It’s the backbone of our economy, our rural community,” Lee said during the visit.
Sandy Mazza can be reached via email at [email protected], by calling 615-726-5962, or on Twitter @SandyMazza.