Tennessee

Amplifying Investments

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Deputy Assistant Secretary April McClain-Delaney and Senior Advisor to the President and Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu visited Jackson to celebrate Prysmian Group, a manufacturer that invested $30 million to convert its copper cable facility into a state-of-the-art fiber-optic cable manufacturing plant. Prysmian remained dedicated to its workforce, retaining nearly 90 percent of its employees. Prysmian expects to hire an additional 40 workers to reach full capacity for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.

Industry Engagement

To prepare for the implementation of the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth’s (OICG) BEAD program, Tennessee hosted several workshops with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in fall 2023. OICG provided extensive technical assistance to create the workshop agendas and materials to drive engagement and share information during these sessions.

Public Engagement

Tennessee held over 50 meetings to gather feedback for the state’s Five-Year Action Plan which were attended by more than 900 individual stakeholders. OICG connected the State Broadband Office (SBO) to several organizations focused on Digital Opportunity, which facilitated the collection of diverse feedback used to inform the plan.

Using NTIA’s Digital Equity Planning Grant funding, Tennessee hosted its inaugural Digital Opportunity Summit, which brought together leaders and advocates from across the state to provide feedback for the first ever statewide Digital Opportunity plan.