Fiber opticsGrants totaling $2.4 million will help bring high-speed broadband internet to parts of Marion, Morgan, Grundy and Trousdale counties, according to U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.
In a news release, Alexander said the three U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development grants will help "enhance educational opportunities and economic development" in rural areas of Tennessee.
"That means children in Greentown, Palmer Mountain, southern Morgan County and northern Trousdale County will have access to the same high-speed internet that students in Knoxville, Nashville, Chattanooga or Memphis have access to. It will also give businesses one more reason to move to or expand in those Tennessee communities," Alexander said.
The USDA approved $850,700 to Ben Lomand Rural Telephone Cooperative to build a broadband network to serve those living on Palmer Mountain in Grundy County and Greentown in Marion County.
A separate $850,032 grant will help North Central Communications build a fiber optics facility in northern Trousdale County, and a $723,593 grant will go to Highland Communications for a fiber optics facility in southern Morgan County, the release stated.