295 Low Bandwidth Homes In Williamson County To Be Upgraded to Fiber Internet By End Of 2020
Franklin, Tenn., September 2, 2020—For specific areas of Williamson County that have lower than 25 Mbps bandwidth, United will be upgrading to fiber by the end of 2020. This is, in part, made possible by the awarding of $5.2 million in grant funding from the Tennessee Emergency Broadband Fund, of which $924,718 is designated for portions of Williamson County. In addition, United Communications will invest more than $231,000 of its own funding for the fiber buildout in these areas.
Funded by Tennessee’s portion of the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF), this grant will accelerate United Communication’s Middle Tennessee Connectivity Initiative—a long-term mission to connect rural, historically underserved areas with high-speed internet. This timely and crucial expansion will bring fiber internet access to 295 homes in Williamson County, ensuring that more Middle Tennessee residents have the internet connection they need to work, learn, and thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic and for years to come.
United Communications is proud to have built a community initiative that continually works to connect areas with better bandwidth access. Currently, they service over 13,000 internet customers, many of which are in areas that would otherwise not have access to broadband. Now thanks to grant funding, United will work to improve connectivity in Williamson County, as well as Bedford, Rutherford, and Marshall county zones by the end of 2020.
To commemorate this step forward, United Communications will celebrate the expansion with local officials.
CARES Act Allows Service to Come to Underserved Areas
“Williamson County is one of the most progressive counties in Tennessee but there are still pockets of little to no internet connectivity,” stated William Bradford, President and CEO of United Communications. “We’re honored to receive a CARES Act grant that we’ve combined with our own investment to assist these underserved areas.”
“Expanding broadband to over 49 miles and 295 homes in Williamson County will help these individuals to gain access to what many people take for granted,” said Chris Jones, President and CEO of Middle Tennessee Electric. “It’s exciting to add this area to our fiber network family.”
United Communications’ passion for connecting these rural areas is rooted in the understanding that internet access is as necessary now as everyday utilities. Without connectivity, residents are highly restricted in basic areas of their lives, such as work, school, and medical visits.
Since 1947, United has built a reputation on quality communication services in Middle Tennessee and is one of the first companies in this region to introduce a fiber-to-the-home network. Headquartered in Chapel Hill, Tennessee, United offers residential and business services, including internet, phone, and digital TV. Learn more about United Communications and its Middle Tennessee Connectivity Initiative by visiting About United.
About United Communications
United Communications is a leading provider of internet, digital TV, and phone services to enterprise-class businesses and residential customers in Middle Tennessee. United has been recognized as the 2020 Fastest Average Speed provider by BroadbandNow and includes approximately 1,000 route miles of fiber connecting in Nashville, Murfreesboro, and Smyrna and covering portions of Williamson, Davidson, Marshall, Bedford, Franklin, and Rutherford counties. United Communications is a subsidiary of Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation. To learn more about United’s internet plans, please visit United Internet.
About Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation
Founded in 1936, Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation is the largest electric co-op in the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) region and the second largest in the United States, serving more than 600,000 Tennesseans via 305,000+ accounts covering nearly 2,200 square miles in 11 Middle Tennessee counties, primarily Rutherford, Cannon, Williamson, and Wilson. For more information, please visit Middle Tennessee Electric.