A Madison, Wisconsin-based communications company has started installing up to 1-gigabit symmetrical internet service in the town of Englewood in McMinn County, Tennessee, starting with more than 700 initial customers.
TDS Telecommunications, an internet service provider in Englewood for 37 years, broke ground on the high-speed project in November, company officials said Wednesday in a news release. Services are becoming available as sections of the project are completed.
Englewood has a population of around 1,500.
"This is an exciting milestone on such an important project," TDS Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs Drew Petersen said in the release. "Fiber-optic technology is world-class, and we know customers have been anxiously awaiting these kinds of reliable, high-speed connections."
McMinn County Mayor John Gentry said by phone Friday that the project will bring reliable internet options to the county's rural residents in Englewood.
"It's been a priority of our County Commission in our strategic planning sessions," Gentry said. "We've been partnering where we could to strengthen grant applications to get fiber out in our rural areas."
Gentry said the pandemic emphasized the need for school children to have reliable internet service when learning remotely, and that kind of service is needed in parts of the community where growth is occurring.
"I think the reason you're seeing this influx of folks in East Tennessee is because of the expansion of fiber -- it's not the only reason, but I think it's a major player," Gentry said. "Folks can now live in rural East Tennessee in peace and beauty and still have a home office whether it's in Atlanta, Nashville, Cincinnati. They can work remotely because now the fiber's there. Englewood is one of our more rural areas of the county, so we appreciate TDS stepping up."
Gentry said Athens Utilities Board, the city-owned nonprofit utility based in McMinn's county seat, also has plans for expanding high-speed fiber across the county, including in the Englewood area.
"There'll be a couple of options going forward in that area," he said.
The product TDS is providing is symmetrical, with equal upload and download speeds, according to spokeswoman Missy Kellor.
(READ MORE: Englewood's National Register-listed water tower gets $30,000 preservation grant)
The top speed available will be 1 gigabit with a range of other options also available, Kellor said in the release. Businesses in the build footprint can choose dedicated connections of up to 10 gigabits, backed by a service level agreement. The company expects to finish the project before the end of the year and connect more than 1,200 residential and business locations, she said.
In addition to standard service options, TDS also offers a low-cost service called TDS Connect that includes up to 200 megabits per second internet speeds for qualifying customers, according to company officials. The monthly cost of TDS Connect is fully covered by the Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program benefit. The benefit provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying tribal lands, according to the FCC.
"We strongly encourage residents to check and see if they qualify for ACP so they can stay connected to internet service without having to cut back on other essentials," Petersen said.
TDS is funding the Englewood project entirely through private capital investment, according to Kellor. She declined to provide the investment amount.
"We are truly excited about the project," Kellor said in a follow-up interview Friday by phone. "We're having an event on April 4, and we hope the community comes out to celebrate the launch of fiber service in their community."
In neighboring Monroe County, the company also is using a Tennessee Emergency Broadband Fund-American Rescue Plan grant of nearly $13 million to build fiber networks in Ball Play, Coker Creek and Tellico Plains, Kellor said.
Englewood residents can find out more about services at TDSFiber.com or at 888-225-5837. The April 4 event is planned for 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Englewood Community Center.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.
Staff File Photo by Ben Benton / Madison, Wisc.-based TDS Telecommunications is installing high-speed fiber in Englewood, Tenn. Here, a fiber optic line used in parts of neighboring Bradley County contains 12 colored tubes that each contain 12 fibers.