Nearly 450,000 Tennesseans are without reliable broadband. Is the connection getting better?

Nearly 450,000 residents in the state don't have adequate broadband, according to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. The office has been tracking the data for years and will roll out its own map in the fall of where Tennesseans lack access to high-speed internet of at least 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream. This measurement is new for the department, so new that the Federal Communication Commission doesn't have that measurement on their own maps, which they believe will show up in the next iteration of data in late 2022 to early 2023. However, in 2018, former Gov Bill Haslam (R-TN) pushed the legislature to allow electric cooperatives and internet companies to team up to provide service. Of the 22 electric cooperatives in Tennessee, 17 have chosen to participate in the initiative. Now Gov Bill Lee (R-TN) stated there would be $198 million more in grant money for broadband. Middle Tennessee and Duck River Electric were the largest recipients of those funds. The money comes from the American Rescue Plan (ARPA), which totals up to $446 million through the Tennessee Emergency Broadband Fund.