State Rep. Rebecca Alexander, R-Jonesborough, and State Rep. Tim Hicks, R-Gray, today announced more than $3.1 million in grant funding has been awarded to expand broadband availability and access to high-quality digital opportunities in Washington County.
The county will receive three separate grants as part of $101.6 million in overall funding administered by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD). This investment will provide broadband access and digital opportunity programs to more than 97,000 Tennesseans across 75 counties.
“Expanding quality broadband empowers Tennesseans and helps our communities thrive,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement. “These important initiatives will provide digital opportunities for many Washington Countians, and we thank each grant recipient for their dedication to workforce development and improving broadband access in East Tennessee.”
Local grant recipients include:
- Cloudwise Academy LLC: $838,243 to advance digital skills and workforce development by serving parts of Washington and six other counties through the Digital Skills, Education and Workforce (DSEW) program.
- National Independent Venue Foundation: $296,460 to advance digital skills and workforce development by serving parts of Washington and four other counties through the DSEW program.
- TAF Rural Expansion Foundation: $1.98 million to enable broadband access, workforce development, and virtual education and health monitoring in parts of Washington and five other counties through the Connected Community Facilities program.
The Digital Skills, Education and Workforce Development grants support a variety of training and education programs to advance digital skills and workforce development, creating a pipeline for well-paying digital jobs. The Connected Community Facilities program supports the construction and renovation of spaces that offer services for digital advancement in workforce, health care and education.
TNECD’s most recent broadband infrastructure grants, totaling $34.5 million, will provide access to more than 5,241 locations in six counties. The $67.1 million in digital opportunity grants will benefit more than 3 million Tennesseans across 66 counties.
All grant recipients must complete their projects by Dec. 31, 2026.
Additional information about Tennessee’s broadband initiatives can be found here.
State Reps. Rebecca Alexander of House District 7 and Tim Hicks of House District 6 each represent part of Washington County.
