Tennessee Gets Set to Dish Out $185M for Rural Broadband Deployments

The state of Tennessee will begin accepting applications in September 2023 for $185 million in grant funding for broadband deployments in unserved and underserved areas. This includes $60 million in funding for a last-mile program and $125 million for a middle-mile program. The awards will be made by the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD) and are funded through the federal Capital Projects Fund (CPF) program. For purposes of the new Tennessee programs, unserved areas are defined as those lacking service at speeds of 25/3 Mbps and underserved areas are those lacking service at speeds of at least 100/20 Mbps. Applicants may include political subdivisions, businesses, cooperatives, and other entities authorized by state law to provide broadband service. The Tennessee ECD office plans to release maps of eligible areas and additional information. A challenge process for eligible areas is scheduled for July 24, 2023 to August 11, 2023. The last mile program awards will be for no more than $20 million per county. Each grant will cover 70% of eligible project expenses. Additional information is available at this link.