Tennessee Awarded ARRA Grant for Broadband

Tennessee was recently approved for a grant of $1.8 million in federal funding for broadband mapping and planning in an effort to increase the availability and use of high-speed Internet service in the state. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) matching grant is awarded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
The award will help Connected Tennessee, the organization that helps accelerate the availability of broadband in Tennessee, deliver a comprehensive map of existing broadband service to the state. Having a comprehensive broadband service map is imperative for the planning of increased broadband availability and technology utilization. Tennessee is already ahead of most states in broadband mapping and this will help us remain at the forefront of seeking broadband availiablility.

About Daryl Phillips, CEcD

I am a professional economic developer. I presently work for communities and companies in developing and implementing workforce and economic development solutions as CEO of Phillips Economic Development Solutions (Phi EDS). Prior to September 2017, I was the economic development professional who served a community team of elected officials, business people, community leaders and dedicated stakeholders for economic development in Cheatham County, Tennessee (pop. 39,880) and its four towns. During my five-year tenure, I served the team as Cheatham County grew over 1,700 jobs, turned around population declines at the start of this decade into healthy population growth, increased tourism expenditures 20.3% and local tax revenue from tourism 25.4%, grew sales tax revenue 36%, focused on developing the local workforce and was recognized by SmartAsset as having the 9th highest Incoming Investment Index of all the 95 counties in Tennessee. I am a member of International Economic Development Council, Southern Economic Development Council, Tennessee Economic Development Council and International Council of Shopping Centers. I have earned the designation of Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) from International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) certification from National Development Council and hold a Master of Business Administration from Tennessee Technological University.
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