- TNECD to announce recipients of Last Mile and Middle Mile grants
- Department introduces four new programs aimed at expanding broadband opportunity
and access to high-quality, digital jobs
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Department of Economic and Community
Development (TNECD) Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter announced today the state will
award $162.7 million in broadband and digital opportunity grants.
In total, these investments will provide broadband access and digital opportunity programs to
more than 236,000 Tennesseans across 92 counties.
“Broadband is essential to all Tennesseans, and that’s why we are making strategic investments
in our state’s broadband infrastructure and digital opportunity programs to create a pathway to
education, job training and greater opportunity statewide,” said Gov. Lee. “I thank the Financial
Stimulus Accountability Group for their continued support and management of these broadband
dollars.”
With today’s announcement, TNECD has invested more than $715 million to expand the state’s
broadband infrastructure, connecting more than 689,000 Tennesseans across 275,000
residential and business locations.
“More than $715 million has been invested to expand broadband under Governor Lee’s
administration, and we are excited to announce additional funding today that will ensure
Tennesseans have access to and benefit from high-speed internet, which opens the door to
high-quality job training,” said Commissioner McWhorter.
Today, a total of $97.2 million is being funded by the Last Mile and Middle Mile infrastructure
programs, and $65.5 million will be invested in digital opportunity programs. These initiatives
are part of a broader strategy to ensure that all residents have access to high-speed internet by
2028, and have opportunities to develop digital skills, access high-quality tech jobs, connect to
broadband enabled devices and access online learning and telehealth resources.
TNECD’s investment of $97.2 million in broadband infrastructure will provide access to more
than 58,200 Tennesseans across 23,000 locations in 37 counties.
To promote broadband opportunity and high-paying digital jobs, TNECD launched four new
programs during this funding opportunity: Digital Skills, Employment and Workforce
Development (DSEW), Connected Community Facilities (CCF), Broadband Ready Communities
(BRC) and Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) Broadband Workforce grants.
The DSEW grants, totaling $27.9 million, will be distributed among 47 organizations that will
offer a variety of training and education programs to advance digital skills and workforce
development, creating a pipeline for well-paying digital jobs.
The CCF grants, totaling $26.5 million, will be distributed among 19 local governments and will
facilitate digital opportunity by construction and renovation of spaces that offer services for
digital advancement in workforce, healthcare, and education.
The BRC grants, totaling $6 million, will be distributed among 64 local governments and support
community-based digital skills training, public Wi-Fi projects, distribution of free or low-cost
devices and marketing for low-cost internet plans.
The TCAT Broadband Workforce grants, totaling $4.9 million, will be distributed among five
TCATs that will offer a Telecommunications Electronics Technician diploma. The objective of
the program will be to produce a well-trained and diverse telecommunications workforce
capable of deploying and managing broadband infrastructure.
Grantees across all programs are investing approximately $48 million in matching funds and
will complete their projects by December 31, 2026.
Below is a list of the recipients for the latest round of funding:
Last Mile
- Spectrum Southeast
$431,902.30 – Serving parts of Polk County - Spectrum Southeast
$3,711,409.51 – Serving parts of Polk County - ETC Communications
$2,001,745.20 – Serving parts of Polk County - Spectrum Southeast
$892,549.89 – Serving parts of Hardin County - Tennessee Valley Electric Cooperative
$1,276,470.54 – Serving parts of Hardin County - Brightspeed
$6,842,456.76 – Serving parts of Hardin County - Tennessee Valley Electric Cooperative
$1,861,920.08 – Serving parts of Wayne County - Spectrum Southeast
$6,666,666.00 – Serving parts of Wayne County - Tennessee Valley Electric Cooperative
$425,423.69 – Serving parts of Wayne County
Middle Mile
- Aeneas Communications
$7,189,296.66 – Serving parts of Fayette, Tipton, Lauderdale, Haywood, Madison, Chester
and Hardeman Counties - Ben Lomand Communications
$14,683,374.00 – Serving parts of Franklin and Moore Counties - Dickson Electric Department
$1,364,758.72 – Serving parts of Dickson, Cheatham, Houston, Hickman and
Montgomery County - Gibson Connect
$7,097,544.00 – Serving parts of Gibson and Madison Counties - BrightRidge
$6,681,348.54 – Serving parts of Washington and Greene Counties - Loretto Telephone Company
$1,580,796.00 – Serving parts of Lawrence County - Newport Utilities
$15,192,642.36 – Serving parts of Cocke County - Spectrum Southeast
$291,729.98 – Serving parts of Blount County - Spectrum Southeast
$205,703.24 – Serving parts of Jefferson County - Spectrum Southeast
$191,788.42- Serving parts of Maury County - Spectrum Southeast
$163,179.11 – Serving parts of Monroe County - Spectrum Southeast
$135,850.12 – Serving parts of Montgomery County - The Board of Public Utilities of the City of Fayetteville, Lincoln County, Tennessee
$2,646,000.00 – Serving parts of Lincoln, Giles and Marshall Counties - Twin Lakes Communications
$1,055,316.50 – Serving parts of Putnam County - United Communications
$1,780,226.31 – Serving parts of Rutherford and Williamson Counties - United Communications
$3,150,106.56 – Serving parts of Franklin, Moore and Bedford Counties - United Communications
$3,058,513.28 – Serving parts of Bedford, Rutherford and Marshall Counties - West Kentucky Rural Telephone Cooperative Corporation, Inc.
$6,610,468.00 – Serving parts of Henry and Weakley Counties
Connected Community Facilities
- Carroll County Government
$1,800,000.00 – Serving Carroll County - City of Bolivar
$589,712.14 – Serving Hardeman County - City of Brownsville
$1,980,000.00 – Serving Haywood County - City of Jackson
$405,433.80 – Serving Madison County - Clay County
$1,712,835.00 – Serving Clay County - Davidson County
$1,978,484.36 – Serving Davidson County - Decatur County
$1,043,216.91 – Serving Decatur County and the Decatur County School System - Hamilton County
$1,421,028.00 – Serving Hamilton County - Hartsville/Trousdale County
$2,000,000.44 – Serving Trousdale County - Houston County
$2,000,000.00 – Serving Houston County - Jackson County
$311,850.00 – Serving Jackson County - Johnson County
$2,000,000.00 – Serving Johnson County - Lewis County
$1,596,114.00 – Serving Lewis County - Maury County
$2,000,000.00 – Serving Maury County - Montgomery County
$216,531.00 – Serving Montgomery County - The City of Dyersburg
$1,798,065.00 – Serving Dyer County - United Way of West Tennessee
$1,755,817.70 – Serving parts of Haywood, Fayette and Tipton Counties - Warren County
$675,000.00 – Serving Warren County - Wayne County
$2,000,000.00 – Serving parts of Wayne, Lawerence, Lewis, Hardin and Perry Counties - Williamson County
$312,454.21 – Serving Williamson County
Broadband Ready Communities
- Anderson County
$100,000.00 - Benton County
$100,000.00 - Blount County
$100,000.00 - Carroll County
$99,878.00 - Carter County
$30,664.00 - Chester County
$100,000.00 - City of Jellico
$100,000.00 - Clay County
$56,990.00 - Hancock County
$99,889.55 - Stewart County
$100,000.00 - Crockett County
$99,900.00 - Cumberland County
$98,863.03 - Decatur County
$100,000.00 - Dickson County
$100,000.00 - Dyer County
$99,985.00 - Fayette County
$100,000.00 - Fentress County
$81,848.08 - Gibson County
$99,900.00 - Grainger County
$100,000.00 - Greene County
$99,592.00 - Hamblen County
$100,000.00 - Hardeman County
$100,000.00 - Hardin County
$99,017.07 - Hartsville/Trousdale County
$100,000.00 - Haywood County
$100,000.00 - Henderson County
$99,999.41 - Henry County
$99,900.00 - Houston County
$100,000.00 - Humphreys County
$100,000.00 - Jackson County
$74,616.06 - Johnson County
$100,000.00 - Knox County
$100,000.00 - Lake County
$99,600.00 - Lauderdale County
$100,000.00 - Lewis County
$100,000.00 - Lincoln County
$100,000.00 - Macon County
$58,604.47 - Madison County
$100,000.00 - Marshall County
$100,000.00 - Maury County
$100,000.00 - McNairy County
$98,016.10 - Monroe County
$100,000.00 - Montgomery County
$100,000.00 - Morgan County
$100,000.00 - Overton County
$93,564.62 - Pickett County
$52,573.55 - Putnam County
$98,379.00 - Robertson County
$100,000.00 - Rutherford County
$100,000.00 - Scott County
$100,000.00 - Shelby County
$100,000.00 - Smith County
$94,500.00 - Sumner County
$100,000.00 - Tipton County
$100,000.00 - Unicoi County
$98,805.10 - Union County
$100,000.00 - Van Buren County
$25,937.79 - Warren County
$96,208.00 - Washington County
$100,000.00 - Wayne County
$100,000.00 - Weakley County
$99,900.00 - White County
$76,961.80 - Williamson County
$100,000.00 - Wilson County
$100,000.00
Digital Skills, Education and Workforce
- AngelStreet
$232,278.00 – Serving parts of Shelby County - ArtsBuild
$185,871.00 – Serving parts of Hamilton County - Bristol Public Library
$93,989.00 – Serving parts of Sullivan County - Bledsoe County Board of Education
$61,649.00 – Serving parts of Bledsoe County - CodeCrew
$900,000.00 – Serving parts of Shelby County - Cloudwise Academy LLC
$346,681.00 – Serving parts of Washington, Carter, Greene, Sullivan and Unicoi Counties - COMP-U-DOPT, INC.
$725,694.00 – Serving parts of Gibson, Obion, Lake, Henry, Dyer, Weakly, Carroll and
Crocket Counties - Darrell S. Freeman Sr. Incubation and Innovation Center – Fisk University
$648,000.00 – Serving parts of Davidson County - Delta Human Resource Agency
$232,959.00 – Serving parts of Tipton, Fayette and Lauderdale Counties - Dynamo Studios
$997,931.00 – Serving parts of Hamilton County - Elizabethton Chamber of Commerce Foundation
$11,781.00 – Serving parts of Carter County - Fisk University
$663,300.00 – Serving parts of Davidson County - First Baptist Cares
$122,770.00 – Serving parts of Shelby and Madison Counties - FUTURO, Inc.
$225,000.00 – Serving parts of Davidson, Rutherford, Wilson and Putnam Counties - gener8tor Management, LLC
$899,999.00 – Serving parts of McMinn, Rhea, Bledsoe, Sequatchie, Marion, Grundy,
Polk, Meigs, Bradley and Hamilton Counties - Greene County Trustee
$1,000,000.00 – Serving parts of Greene County - Greater Nashville Regional Council
$404,893.00 – Serving parts of Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Houston, Humphreys,
Montgomery, Robertson, Rutherford, Stewart, Sumner, Trousdale, Williamson and Wilson
Counties - Nashville Business Incubation Center
$900,000.00 – Serving parts of Davidson and Nashville-Davidson County MSA Counties - Helping Hands of Middle & West Tennessee
$808,539.00 – Serving parts of Madison, Haywood and Hardeman Counties - Jackson State Community College
$890,894.00 – Serving parts of Madison, Gibson, Decatur, Henderson, Hardeman, Hardin,
Chester, Carroll, McNairy and Benton Counties - Kaifa LLC
$320,456.00 – Serving parts of Washington County - Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee
$500,000.00 – Serving parts of Knox County - Lane College
$891,634.00 – Serving parts of Madison, Davidson, Fayette and Tipton Counties - La Paz Chattanooga
$723,322.00 – Serving parts of Hamilton County - Latino Memphis
$854,355.00 – Serving parts of Shelby County - Maryville College
$776,814.00 – Serving parts of Blount County - Memphis Library Foundation
$300,510.00 – Serving parts of Shelby County - Memphis Urban League
$860,494.00 – Serving parts of Shelby, Fayette, Madison and Haywood Counties - Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency
$900,000.00 – Serving parts of Davidson Counties - Mid Cumberland Human Resource Agency
$66,361.00 – Serving parts of Dickson County - Morecomputing Learning Services, Inc.
$374,969.00 – Serving parts of Davidson, Rutherford and Montgomery Counties - Nashville International Center for Empowerment
$441,061.00 – Serving parts of Davidson County - Nashville Public Education Foundation
$999,814.00 – Serving parts of Davidson County - Northeast State Community College
$980,591.00 – Serving parts of Sullivan, Carter, Greene, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson,
Unicoi and Washington Counties - Pivot Technology School
$872,910.00 – Serving parts of Davidson County - ROANEnet
$254,079.00 – Serving parts of Roane and Rhea Counties - Shora Foundation
$204,385.00– Serving parts of Knox County - Soulsville Foundation
$962,000.00 – Serving parts of Shelby County - South Memphis Renewal Com. Dev. Corp.
$865,484.00 – Serving parts of Haywood, Hardeman, Gibson, Fayette, Shelby and Tipton
Counties - Southeast Tennessee Development District
$198,000.00 – Serving parts of Hamilton, Bledsoe, Bradley, Grundy, Marion, McMinn,
Meigs, Polk, Rhea and Sequatchie Counties - Southwest Human Resource Agency
$895,116.00 – Serving parts of Chester, Decatur, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood,
Henderson, Madison and McNairy Counties - TECH901
$813,384.00 – Serving parts of Shelby, Fayette and Tipton Counties - The Enterprise Center
$1,979,965.00 – Serving parts of Hamilton, Bradley, Polk, McMinn, Marion, Sequatchie,
Bledsoe, Rhea, Meigs and Grundy Counties - The Village at Glencliff
$272,897.00 – Serving parts of Davidson, Rutherford, Williamson, Sumner, Wilson,
Maury, Robertson, Dickson Cheatham, Hickman, Macon, Smith, Cannon and Trousdale
Counties - United Way of West Tennessee
$58,613.00 – Serving parts of Madison County - University of Tennessee
$512,916.00 – Serving parts of Knox, Anderson, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Cocke,
Cumberland, Grainger, Hamblen, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe,
Morgan, Rhea, Roane, Scott, Sevier and Union Counties - University of Tennessee at Martin
$343,640.00 – Serving parts of Lauderdale Dyer and Tipton Counties - Urban Housing Solutions
$407,206.00 – Serving parts of Davidson County
TCAT Broadband Workforce
- Tennessee College of Applied Technology Harriman
$994,349.50 - Tennessee College of Applied Technology Henry/Carroll
$1,000,000.00 - Tennessee College of Applied Technology Hohenwald
$1,000,000.00 - Tennessee College of Applied Technology Livingston
$1,000,000.00 - Tennessee College of Applied Technology Murfreesboro
$1,000,000.00
Applications for the second round of CCF and BRC programs will open on May 15, 2024, and the
DSEW program will open on June 15, 2024.
To learn more about Tennessee’s broadband initiatives or apply for these programs, please visit
here.
About the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development’s mission is to develop
strategies that help make Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.
To grow and strengthen Tennessee, the department seeks to attract new corporate investment
to the state and works with Tennessee companies to facilitate expansion and economic growth.
Find us on the web: tnecd.com. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Like us on
Facebook. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
TNECD Media Contact
Lindsey Tipton
Director of Communications
(615) 339-6608
[email protected]
