The State of Tennessee has awarded $162.7 million in broadband and digital opportunity grants.
In total, these investments will provide broadband access and digital opportunity programs to more than 236,000 Tennesseans across 92 counties.
TNECD’s investment of $97.2 million in broadband infrastructure will provide access to more than 58,200 Tennesseans across 23,000 locations in 37 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.
Under the Connected Community Facilities program Clay County is receiving $1,712,835. Under the Broadband Ready Communities program, Clay will receive $56,990.
The DSEW grants, totaling $27.9 million, will be distributed among 47 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.
The CCF grants, totaling $26.5 million, will be distributed among 19 local governments and will facilitate digital opportunity by construction and renovation of spaces that offer services for digital advancement in workforce, healthcare, and education.
The BRC grants, totaling $6 million, will be distributed among 64 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.
The TCAT Broadband Workforce grants, totaling $4.9 million, will be 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 approximately $48 million in matching funds and will complete their projects by December 31, 2026.