Cumberland awarded $27M+ for broadband

Sep. 15—Better internet service is on the way for more than 8,800 addresses across Cumberland County following the announcement of three broadband expansion grants totaling more than $26.5 million Monday.

"This is an extremely exciting announcement for the people of Cumberland County," Cumberland County Mayor Allen Foster said. "Four years ago, when I took office, I made a promise that I would do all I could to improve broadband access in our community ... These grants will go a long way toward doing just that! The years of hard work are finally paying off for the citizens of Cumberland County!"

Three companies serving portions of Cumberland County were among 75 projects awarded $446 million in grants to provide broadband internet access to more than 150,000 unserved homes and businesses across 58 counties in Tennessee.

"People are moving to Tennessee from across the nation in record numbers, and we have an obligation to prepare our state for continued growth," said Gov. Bill Lee following Monday's announcement. "Our strategic investments in broadband infrastructure will ensure our rural communities are connected and have every opportunity to thrive."

Ben Lomand received a total of $22.4 million for Cumberland County, with a total project cost of $37.1 million. Its project is the largest awarded in Cumberland County, with more than 6,900 new address points slated for service across the county. The project area fills in portions of the county between areas where the company has received grants in the past.

The company also received a grant to extend service in Coffee County to about 100 households and businesses.

"We are overjoyed and blessed to have received these important grants," said Greg Smartt, Ben Lomand Connect general manager and CEO. "This will have an immeasurable impact on the households and businesses in both Cumberland and Coffee counties.

"The Cumberland County grant greatly expands our Ben Lomand Fiber footprint within a county where we have fostered a close to two decades-long relationship. And just like our fiber footprint, we continue to grow our staff and support personnel to handle the communication needs of one of the largest-sized counties in the state. From online learning, telemedicine and the growing work-from-home sector, we can't wait to see what the fruits of synchronous Gig fiber are to these residents."

Ben Lomand has received multiple grants to expand broadband internet service in Cumberland County, including state and federal grants.

A $2.2 million USDA Reconnect Grant awarded in February 2020 will provide internet service to 222 homes across about 100 square miles in the areas of Smith Mountain, Millstone Mountain and Long Rockhouse Branch near Crab Orchard and north of Fairfield Glade west toward No Business Creek and Clear Creek. A second USDA Reconnect Grant awarded in October 2020 provided $1.9 million to serve about 84 addresses across 25 square miles in the southwestern portion of the county. Both those projects are currently under construction.

The state awarded Ben Lomand a $2 million grant in April 2022 to serve about 1,500 locations in the Hwy. 127 N. area and, in March 2021, a $1.9 million grant to serve 1,125 locations in the county, also in the Hwy. 127 N. area. The first project is about 90% complete and the second is about 60% complete. Both projects are impacted by the road construction on Hwy. 127, which is excluded from the completion estimates at this time.

BTC Communications, LLC, based in Bledsoe County, received a $5 million grant to serve an area in southern Cumberland County up to the boundary with Ben Lomand. This area includes Newton Rd., Brewer Rd., Vandever Rd., Hillendale Rd. and Hinch Mountain Rd.

"We've sent this grant in three times," said Matthew Boynton, engineering manager with BTC Communications.

He thanked the community for their support for the project, which included writing letters of support to include in the grant application. Boynton said the company received hundreds of letters.

"That's what helped us get this incredible grant," Boynton said. "The state commented on the support we had from the community."

He thanked members of the community, county leaders and Foster for their support of the project.

The project includes both grant-funded areas and a section that is not grant funded. The grant project includes 94 miles of fiber providing customers with up to 1 gigabyte download speeds to 1,577 addresses. BTC will also run 7 additional miles of fiber optic line to serve 299 additional addresses.

The areas of the grant project are considered "unserved" under grant rules. Previously, areas had been considered "served" if internet service offered a minimum speed of 25 megabits per second download and 3 megabits upload. The increasing demands of digital communications has led to a new definition of acceptable internet service, however. Areas with connections providing less than 100 megabits per second download speed and 20 megabits per second upload speed are considered unserved.

Boynton explained that service is determined by census block, which sometimes results in one side of a road being considered served and the other side unserved. There's such an area on the eastern side of Hwy. 127 in the BTC project, and the company intends to serve both sides of the road.

Spring City Cable TV received a $1.9 million grant for projects serving parts of Rhea, Bledsoe and Cumberland counties. The Cumberland County area includes Happy Top Rd. and adjoining roads, said Cody Vineyard, infrastructure engineering with the company.

"It's about 45 houses in Cumberland County," Vineyard said.

Funding for the grants comes from the Tennessee Emergency Broadband Fund — American Rescue Plan, which uses a portion of the state's federal ARP funds intended to address the economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tennessee's Fiscal Stimulus Accountability Group dedicated $500 million to broadband funding from this program, with more than $446 going to infrastructure and about $50 million to broadband adoption and digital literacy efforts.

The state received 218 applications requesting more than $1.2 billion in funding. Grants were selected based on the need of the grant area, the ability to complete the project and community support.

Grantees will provide about $331 million in matching funds for a combined investment of $778 million in new broadband infrastructure projects across the state. These projects must be completed within three years.

The Cumberland County Commission agreed to match a portion of the state grant for any provider receiving a grant in the county. This funding will come from the county's allotment of federal ARP funds up to $3 million.

"We know folks have waited a really long time for good internet," said Boynton. "We're excited to get started."

Foster said the grants will increase the investment of internet service providers in Cumberland County to about $65 million since 2020.

Prior to Monday's announcement, internet providers had been awarded about $20.4 million in grants to serve more than 9,125 new address points.

Heather Mullinix is editor of the Crossville Chronicle. She covers schools and education in Cumberland County. She may be reached at hmullinix@crossville-chronicle.com.