The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development awarded SVEConnect a grant of $817,406 to serve broadband to the Griffith Creek area, including the areas of Mt. Olive, Pocket Road and Fish Branch.
The State announced a total of nearly $15 million in grants awarded to electric and telephone cooperatives around the state, including the grant to SVEConnect for the Griffith Creek community.
“Thank you to the State of Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development for their commitment to rural broadband expansion,” said Michael Partin, president and CEO of Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) and SVEConnect. "Eighty years ago we brought the essential service of electricity to our rural members, and today the vital service needed in our rural communities is broadband. Our mission at SVEConnect is to improve the quality of life in our communities by offering high-speed, affordable, reliable broadband to everyone in our Marion County area. Grants help expedite the project.”
Including the TNECD grant, this year SVEConnect has been awarded over $1.3 million in grants for broadband expansion in unserved areas of Marion County. Earlier this year SVEConnect was awarded $500,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission for broadband expansion to New Hope in Marion County.
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