Weakley County and WK&T are matching a $2 million dollar Broadband Accessibility Grant from the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development for a total investment of $6 million dollars.
The project calls for building a fiber network in the east central portion of Weakley County near Sharon, with Martin to the north and Dresden to the east. Major state highways passing through include Highway 54, Highway 43, Highway 89, Mt. Vernon Road, 3 Point Road and Highway 22. The expansion involves 137 miles of fiber along mostly rural highways.
When completed, the network will make high-speed broadband access available to approximately 1,383 underserved customers, opening up the possibilities for better education, telemedicine and economic development.
The Broadband Accessibility Grant program is designed to offset the capital expenses in the deployment of broadband in unserved areas. Funds are targeted to areas that are unlikely to receive broadband service without grant funding.
