Senator Walley Announces $37.4 Million in Funding to Expand Broadband in Senate District 26

State Senator Page Walley recently announced the award of 24 major grants from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development to expand broadband to unserved communities in every county in Senate District 26: Chester, Fayette, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Lawrence, McNairy and Wayne Counties.

“Governor Lee and I are pleased to announce a record amount of grants going to our district to expand broadband to our communities and give people access to the endless opportunities provided through broadband connectivity,” said Walley. “Broadband enables access to essential education resources, gives businesses more tools to market their products, affords farmers access to the latest technology, and offers needed telehealth services.  It also provides critical infrastructure to create jobs and rebuild our economy to ensure that our region will be highly competitive for generations to come.”

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. 

Last Mile grant recipients in Senate District 26:

• 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
• Loretto Telephone Company – $1,580,796.00 – Serving parts of Lawrence County

 

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 CCF grants are being distributed to local governments and will facilitate digital opportunity by construction and renovation of spaces that offer services for digital advancement in workforce, healthcare, and education. 

Connected Community Facilities grant recipients in SD 24: 

• City of Bolivar – $589,712.14 – Serving Hardeman County

• City of Brownsville – $1,980,000.00 – Serving Haywood County
• United Way of West Tennessee – $1,755,817.70 – Serving parts of Haywood, Fayette and Tipton Counties
• Wayne County – $2,000,000.00 – Serving parts of Wayne, Lawrence, Lewis, Hardin and Perry Counties

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 SD 24:

• Chester County – $100,000.00
• Fayette County – $100,000.00
• Hardeman County – $100,000.00
• Hardin County – $100,000.00
• Haywood County – $100,000.00
• McNairy County – $98,016.10
• Wayne County – $100,000.00

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 SD 24: 

• Delta Human Resource Agency – $232,959.00 – Serving parts of Tipton, Fayette and Lauderdale Counties 
• Helping Hands of Middle & West Tennessee – $808,539.00 – Serving parts of Madison, Haywood and Hardeman Counties 
• Memphis Urban League – $ 860,494.00 – Serving parts of Shelby, Fayette, Madison and Haywood Counties 
• South Memphis Renewal Com. Dev. Corp. – $865,484.00 – Serving parts of Haywood, Hardeman, Gibson, Fayette, Shelby and Tipton Counties
• Southwest Human Resource Agency – $895,116.00 – Serving parts of Chester, Decatur, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, and McNairy 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.

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 Wednesday, May 15, 2024, and the DSEW program will open on June 15, 2024.

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