Communities are keen to implement next generation fiber optic infrastructures, as they recognize such assets are crucial to economic development and growth strategies and are not merely an entertainment medium. Only about 25 percent of Tennesseans have access to fiber with rural areas lagging far behind, and that’s bad news for rural economies. Big Telecom has little interest in expanding to small towns and farmlands, as shareholders are out for a return on their investment; running fiber optic cable into rocky Appalachian soil isn't cheap. However, communities across Appalachia are partnering with small agile next generation fiber optic providers on federal and state grants to bring this transformative technology to their communities (https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/paax9n/rural-america-is-buil…).

That opportunity now exists for Union County. The Tennessee Broadband Accessibility Act was signed into law in 2017 and Governor Haslam committed $30 million in grants over three years to encourage broadband deployment in rural Tennessee (https://www.tn.gov/ecd/rural-development/tennessee-broadband-grant-init…). This is the second year of the three year grant program. Union County was not considered as a grant partner by any providers in 2017 because the county had failed to achieve designation as a broadband ready community. That designation was achieved in April 2018 thanks to the efforts of 1st District Commissioner Stan Dail. This grant is very competitive; the nine FY 17 grants funded only a fraction of the $66 million of requests received from 71 utilities and communications companies and co-ops that sought state funding. The 5,000 households that the FY 17 grants will help are barely more than 1 percent of the roughly 422,000 households in rural Tennessee that don't have access to landline internet speeds that meet the federal benchmark for high speed broadband. Only those areas of Union County shown in blue on the map, that lack a terrestrial, fixed service of at least 10Mbps download speed and 1 Mbps upload speed, are eligible for grant funding. For the 2018 program, Governor Haslam has added an additional $5 million to the $10 million initially included in the FY 18-19 budget.

Working with Sunset Digital Communications (https://www.sunset-fiber.com/), Hancock and Claiborne counties capitalized on their designation as broadband ready communities in 2017 and a grant application by Sunset Digital Communications was funded for $1.3 million to bring new broadband access to communities in both counties. Sunset will also invest another $1.1 million in matching funds to bring the total investment to $2.4 million. According to Sunset Digital Communications co-founder Paul Elswick, “Bringing broadband access to rural communities is the mission of our company and we are happy to make an investment in the future of Hancock and Claiborne counties.” Founded in 2003 by the father and son team of Paul and Ryan Elswick, Sunset Digital has been at the forefront of remote, rural fiber to the premises deployment since receiving the first grant of the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission in 2002. Sunset is a tier-two, next-generation, fiber-optics services company based in Duffield, VA, with branch offices in Kingsport, TN, and Tazewell, TN.

In May 2018, Sunset Digital Communications submitted a $2.5M USDA Community Connect Grant Application for the Sharps Chapel Community of Union County that was not funded. According to Tim Long of Sunset Digital, “the USDA Community Connect Grant Program helps rural communities extend access where broadband service is least likely to be commercially available, but where it can make a tremendous difference in the quality of life for people and businesses.” “The projects funded by these grants help rural residents tap into the enormous potential of the Internet for jobs, education, healthcare, public safety and community development,” said Long. Long noted that competition was tough for these grants with only five funded from among hundreds of applications across all 50 states. According to Long, the data collected as part of the USDA grant will be used in a submission to the Tennessee Broadband Accessibility Grant Program for Union County.

1st District Commissioner Stan Dail has been gathering dozens of support letters for the Tennessee Broadband Accessibility Grant application. According to Dail in his support letter for the grant application, “Tennessee currently ranks 29th in the U.S. for broadband access, with 13 percent of the state lacking accessibility; 34 percent of rural residents are without coverage at recognized minimum standards.”. Dail emphasized the impact broadband can have on adult education. “The right education can lift people from poverty and improve their lives financially, physically and mentally. A good education can provide a lifetime of opportunities.” Dail also noted that "If we want to attract high paying jobs and companies to Union County, we have to provide them with an infrastructure backbone that includes high speed Internet access."

According to Amanda Martin, the Tennessee Broadband Grant Coordinator, grants are scored on a 200 point scale. Community support is 45 points of the 200 scored on the grant. This includes being designated as a Tennessee Broadband Ready Community, leveraged and match funds and partnerships and support from the local community. "These 45 points are critical", said Martin, as successful grants garner points for both additional match funds from the providers and leveraged funds from other sources, including the local county and municipal governments, businesses and individuals." "It also shows strong community support when local government, businesses and citizens are willing to contribute to the project" said Martin.

How do we bridge the digital divide in Union County – individuals are working hard to bring together broad community support for the Tennessee Broadband Accessibility Grant application by Sunset Digital Communications. In addition to letters of support, individuals, homeowners associations and businesses will be committing matching funds as part of the grant application. Letters can be picked up and dropped off at the Union County Chamber of Commerce. How can you help? Submit a letter of support, talk to local businesses and encourage them to make a commitment of matching funds, encourage local elected officials to pass resolutions making all Union County broadband ready (https://www.tn.gov/ecd/rural-development/tennessee-broadband-grant-init…). If we work together, we can bridge the digital divide in Union County.