Bradford, TN – TEC, a leading rural fiber broadband provider in Tennessee, will be providing Fast Fiber Internet to parts of Carroll, Benton, and Henry counties and bridging the digital divide for rural Tennesseans. TEC was one of 386 competing companies in the recent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) auction, which awarded $9 billion for the provision of broadband internet to unserved and underserved areas throughout the United States. TEC won $285,692 in funding to build internet access to parts of Camden, Eva, Buena Vista, Huntingdon, McLemoresville, McKenzie, Paris, and Henry. TEC will provide additional funding of $2,598,231 for a total build-out construction project of $2,883,923; this increased access will improve the quality of lives for these local communities.
Joey Garner “Building connections for the community is our goal. We are thankful for this opportunity to improve the quality of life for our neighbors, friends, and businesses in West Tennessee,” states Joey F. Garner Executive Vice President of TEC. “TEC looks forward to growing with our community and continually enhancing the quality and availability of communication services with our fiber network deployment.”
TEC’s goal is to minimize the digital divide for rural Tennesseans by providing a reliable, high-quality, and affordable internet solution. Customer needs are changing when it comes to internet usage during these unprecedented times; there is now a crucial need for working, learning, communicating, and having the capability to access essential online services. Having the ability to connect to fiber internet is about doing daily activities at home or in a business without worrying about the connection quality.
TEC will be constructing approximately 55 miles of fiber with this funding and connecting over 900 businesses and residences in rural West Tennessee. Community members will have access to TEC’s Fast Fiber Internet with upload and download speeds of 1 Gig, plus phone services. Interested customers can fill out a simple form on www.TEC.com/SignUp for access to Fast Fiber Internet at their location, and are encouraged to ask their neighbors to submit their request.
Joseph Butler, Mayor of Carroll County states, "We are very grateful to TEC for their continued investment in Carroll County. A top priority of Carroll County leadership is broadband expansion, especially to the more rural parts of our great county. As they continue to show through grant opportunities and their own matching funding, TEC shares in that goal in Carroll County, creatively and aggressively working to help us address this critical need. We are excited about the opportunity to continue to work closely with TEC as we take great steps forward together, and again thank them for their investments in our community. I would like to personally thank my friends, Lisa Wigington and Brent Fisher, for their dedicated efforts in helping us build a brighter, prosperous future for Carroll County."
TEC provides economic stability to its local service areas, employing over 200 people across Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Georgia. Currently, TEC has invested in and maintains approximately 1,400 miles of fiber in its rural markets. For nearly a century, TEC has been a forerunner in providing telecommunications services to rural America and was the first to bring internet options to many rural markets over 20 years ago. For more information, visit www.TEC.com.