The 113th Tennessee General Assembly adjourned sine die on April 25, 2024. The session was dominated by debate over the size and scope of the $1.6 billion legislative fix to the state.
Nearly 450,000 residents in the tri-star state don't have adequate broadband, according to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. That number was doubled four years ago.
BrightRidge is funding a new broadband expansion that will bring internet service to another 1,051 rural locations in Washington County.
Officials with BrightRidge said the broadband expansion is made possible by work the utility did last year with the help of $2.47 million in Tennessee Emergency Broadband grants it received in August from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.
BrightRidge matched that grant funding, which was part of the Coronavirus Relief Fund, with $617,828 in local funds to bring the total cost of the project to $3,089,143.
According to a news release from the utility on Thursday, fiber trunk lines installed under the grant funding have allowed BrightRidge to provide broadband to additional customers in need of better internet service.