The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development awarded $2.9 million in grants to Charter Communications to improve internet access in Loudon County.
A total of $20.2 million has been awarded in broadband expansion grants for Loudon, McMinn and Monroe counties. The grants were made available by utilizing a portion of the state’s American Rescue Plan funding from the federal government.
The counties will receive three grants as part of a $447 million emergency broadband package announced by Gov. Bill Lee and distributed by TNECD to improve broadband internet access statewide.
State Reps. Lowell Russell, R-Vonore, and Mark Cochran, R-Englewood, praised the announcement in a joint statement.
“Expanding access to broadband internet is vital for families, students and businesses,” according to the statement.
The Federal Communications Commission’s 2020 Broadband Deployment Report found one in six rural Tennesseans lack access to broadband.
“In addition to benefitting so many of our neighbors, these grants will also help create new opportunities for economic growth throughout our region,” according to the statement. “We will continue to work with Gov. Lee and our colleagues in the General Assembly to further improve broadband availability in rural Tennessee.”
TNECD received 218 applications requesting more than $1.2 billion in funding. The 75 projects awarded grants were chosen through a competitive selection process that included an analysis of need, ability to complete the project and strong community support.
Grant recipients include a range of internet service providers such as electrical and telephone cooperatives, local municipalities, private providers and cable companies. The projects must be completed within three years.
Charter, branded locally as Spectrum, received $2.9 million to expand service to 1,747 unserved homes and businesses in Loudon County and $4.3 million for 5,017 homes and businesses in McMinn County.
Tellico Telephone Company received $13 million to expand service to 3,709 unserved homes and businesses in Monroe County.
Since 2018, TNECD has awarded nearly $120 million in broadband grants through state and federal funding to serve more than 140,000 Tennessee households.
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