Nashville Tennessean

The Williamson County (TN) Commission stated its willingness to help fund broadband internet projects in the county in two resolutions approved unanimously March 14. The money would come from the over $46 million Williamson County is slated to receive in American Rescue Plan funds meant to provide relief from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) understands a life without broadband internet. In fact, he still doesn't have high-speed internet inside his rural home in Fernvale, the small unincorporated community between Franklin and Leiper's Fork. Rural broadband was a part of Lee's 2018 campaign, and the governor told the organization he planned to follow in the footsteps of former-Gov. Bill Haslam (R-TN) to hand out grants in the state to rural areas that need it most.

Tennessee's Broadband Accessibility Act funnels $45 million to communities across the state that don't have broadband access. In addition to passing the accessibility act in 2017, the Tennessee legislature in 2018 loosened regulations to allow internet providers to partner with public utilities. The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development received 66 applications in 2017 for the accessibility act's first round of funding. Each year for three years, $10 million in grants and $5 million in tax credits are available to private businesses.

Residents across Nashville (TN) have been waiting for the highly anticipated Google Fiber internet service since Google announced its expansion to Nashville three and a half years ago. While parts of several neighborhoods and apartment buildings have access to Google Fiber, many Nashvillians continue to renew contracts with existing providers they pledged to drop when the city rolled out its red carpet to Google.