Tennessee

In a step toward transforming Memphis (TN) into the nation's most digitally-equitable large city, Mayor Paul Young (D) broke ground on Memphis' first citywide fiber network. Memphis' median fixed broadband speeds currently rank among the slowest of any major US cities and less than 25 percent of residents have access to superior fiber internet. The citywide infrastructure being designed, built, financed, and managed by Blue Suede Networks, is being designed to pass 85 percent of Memphis' business and residential premises, including 85 percent in low-income communities.

Governor Bill Lee (R-TN) and Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) Commissioner Stuart McWhorter announced that Tennessee will award $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. With this announcement, TNECD has invested more than $715 million to expand the state’s broadband infrastructure, connecting more than 689,000 Tennesseans across 275,000 residential and business locations.

For residents in rural areas of Williamson County (TN), the wait for fiber internet service may soon be over.

According to the 2022 federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, "digital discrimination" involves determining who gets broadband access “based on income level, race, ethnicity, religion or national origin.” As an example, some neighborhoods in cities get faster broadband speeds than those in poorer neighborhoods, creating a two-tiered effect. Nationally, the Federal Communications Commission has been empowered by Congress to handle digital discrimination complaints, which provides some remedy for those who find themselves on this new wrong side of the digital divide.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has accepted Tennessee’s Digital Equity plan. The Digital Equity Act, part of the Internet for All initiative and a key piece of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, provides $2.75 billion to establish three grant programs that promote digital equity and inclusion. The program aims to ensure that all people and communities have the skills, technology, and capacity needed to reap the full benefits of our digital economy.

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) has proven to be a digital lifeline for its 23 million beneficiaries. However, although lawmakers have known for over a year that the fund would be bankrupt by this spring, GOP congressional leaders have not budged on even bipartisan attempts to save the ACP, prompting the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to announce in January the wind down the popular program. It’s a major setback for the “Internet for All” effort,

At least 13 states intend to undertake “nondeployment” projects as part of their funding under the $42.5-billion BEAD program, according to their initial proposals. The number of states that expect money left over after allocating funds for all unserved and underserved locations could be higher, and perhaps considerably so.

Jonesboro, Arkansas-based Ritter Communications continues to build on its legacy of serving underserved communities by aggressively deploying fiber in its four-state footprint across Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas. This rapid deployment has been funded by a variety of sources, including support from private equity partner Grain Management and the Ritter family, bank loans, and American Rescue Plan Act-funded state grants for broadband deployment.