State Senator Shane Reeves (R-Murfreesboro, Above Right Photo) announced Friday the award of 10 major grants from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development to expand broadband to unserved communities in every county in Senate District 14: Bedford, Cannon, Moore, and Rutherford
“I am very grateful to Governor Lee and ECD for helping distribute these grants across the district,” said Reeves. “These grants will be a tremendous help in expanding broadband in our area to give citizens and businesses access to essential technology and connectivity. I look forward to seeing the progress made.”
The awards consist of Last Mile and Middle Mile infrastructure programs as well as 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.
Middle Mile grant recipients in Senate District 14:
- United Communications - $1,780,226.31 - Serving parts of Rutherford and Williamson Counties
- Ben Lomand Communications - $14,683,374.00 - Serving parts of Franklin and Moore Counties
- United Communications - $3,150,106.28 - Serving parts of Franklin, Moore and Bedford Counties
- United Communications - $3,058,513.28 - Serving parts of Bedford, Rutherford and Marshall 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 BRC grants are being distributed to 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.
Broadband Ready Communities grant recipients in Senate District 14:
- Rutherford County - $100,000
The DSEW grants are being distributed to 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.
Digital Skills, Education and Workforce grant recipients in Senate District 14:
- FUTURO, Inc. - $225,000.00 - Serving parts of Davidson, Rutherford, Wilson and Putnam Counties
- 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
- Morecomputing Learning Services, Inc. - $374,969.00 - Serving parts of Davidson, Rutherford and Montgomery 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
The TCAT Broadband Workforce grants are being 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.
TCAT Broadband Workforce grant recipients in Senate District 14:
- Tennessee College of Applied Technology Murfreesboro - $1,000,000.00
Grantees across all programs are investing matching funds and will complete their projects by December 31, 2026.
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.
