State boosts grants for rural broadband
With the help of Tennessee’s coronavirus fiscal recovery funds, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development is distributing $400 million in grant funding to expand broadband connectivity to underserved areas in rural Tennessee.
“There is no time like the present to build out to the most unserved and expensive [to build infrastructure] areas in our state,” Taylre Beaty, broadband director in the state Department of Economic and Community Development, said in an announcement of the grant aid.
Previously, the Broadband Accessibility Grant Program provided grant funding over a three-year period, appropriated at $10 million in 2018, $15 million in 2019 and $20 million in 2020. During those rounds of funding, providers had to contribute a 50/50 match for all grant funding.
The 2022 grants allow for a 70/30 match, meaning providers only need to contribute 30% of the overall funding for the builds.