{"id":15358,"date":"2020-02-27T23:00:59","date_gmt":"2020-02-28T05:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/?p=15358"},"modified":"2020-02-27T21:25:06","modified_gmt":"2020-02-28T03:25:06","slug":"tennessees-broadband-initiatives-featured-in-new-pew-broadband-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/2020\/02\/27\/tennessees-broadband-initiatives-featured-in-new-pew-broadband-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennessee\u2019s Broadband Initiatives Featured in New Pew Broadband Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TennesseeNashville, TN <\/strong>– Tennessee\u2019s broadband initiatives are highlighted in a new report released today by the Pew Charitable Trusts.<\/p>\n

The report, \u2018How States are Expanding Broadband Access<\/a>,\u2019 features best practices from nine states that are developing leading broadband programs to address critical connectivity gaps in their communities.<\/p>\n

\"<\/a>

Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development\u2019s broadband accessibility grant program.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Tennessee\u2019s best practices include the Department of Economic and Community Development\u2019s broadband accessibility grant program; the broadband adoption program, a partnership with the Tennessee State Library and Archives to fund digital literacy instruction; and the change in legislation that permits electric cooperatives to provide retail broadband.<\/p>\n

\u201cTennessee continues to pave the way in broadband accessibility with our initiatives. TNECD is focused on making sure all residents, rural and urban, have access to broadband,\u201d TNECD Commissioner Bob Rolfe said. \u201cHigh-speed internet access is critical for the future prosperity and health of our communities. We are honored to be included in Pew\u2019s report, and we will continue to work to make sure that Tennesseans have the connectivity they need in an increasingly digital world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since 2018, TNECD has awarded more than $25 million in broadband accessibility grants to support projects within 30 Tennessee counties. The department anticipates announcing nearly $20 million worth of additional broadband grants this spring.<\/p>\n

TNECD also collaborates with its federal partners to ensure Tennesseans receive every opportunity for broadband access. The Appalachian Regional Commission has awarded $11.8 million in the last four years for broadband projects in Tennessee, the second-highest total in the 13-state ARC region. USDA has funded more than $50 million in Community Connect and ReConnect grant and loan programs in Tennessee.<\/p>\n

Tennessee currently has 54 Broadband Ready Communities, a designation earned by political subdivisions for streamlining the local administrative processes that impact broadband deployment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re thrilled that a nationally-recognized organization like Pew has focused research efforts exploring broadband\u2019s impact and that Pew has held Tennessee up as a state making strides on this important issue,\u201d TNECD Broadband Director Crystal Ivey said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe work closely every day with broadband providers to discuss ways we can make progress. There are still communities in Tennessee that are not adequately connected, and we will continue working for them until all Tennesseans, no matter where they live, have access to this critical infrastructure,\u201d stated Ivey.<\/p>\n

Pew\u2019s report is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[470center]<\/p>\n

About Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development<\/h3>\n

The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development\u2019s mission is to develop strategies that help make Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs. To grow and strengthen Tennessee, the department seeks to attract new corporate investment to the state and works with Tennessee companies to facilitate expansion and economic growth.<\/p>\n

Find us on the web: tnecd.com<\/a>. Follow us on Twitter<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>: @tnecd. Like us on Facebook: facebook.com\/tnecd<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nashville, TN – Tennessee\u2019s broadband initiatives are highlighted in a new report released today by the Pew Charitable Trusts. The report, \u2018How States are Expanding Broadband Access,\u2019 features best practices from nine states that are developing leading broadband programs to address critical connectivity gaps in their communities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[181],"tags":[10444,2086,284,261,11470,1862,10675],"class_list":["post-15358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-government","tag-broadband","tag-internet","tag-nashville-tn","tag-tennessee","tag-tennessee-broadband-accessibility-act","tag-tennessee-department-of-economic-and-community-development","tag-tennessee-reconnect"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15358"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15359,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15358\/revisions\/15359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}