Four TNBA Members Secure $29,000,000 in BEAD Funding

Four Tennessee Broadband Association members—Ben Lomand Communications, Loretto Telephone Company, United Communications, and WK&T—received more than $29,000,000 in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment funding to expand connectivity in communities across Tennessee, with recipients required to match a portion of the funding to support project costs. Their projects will extend reliable high-speed internet into rural areas of Bedford, Coffee, Cumberland, Franklin, Henry, Lawrence, Maury, Rutherford, Trousdale, Williamson, and Wilson counties.

To recognize this work, we’re highlighting each of these members. The profiles offer a closer look at the companies behind the projects, including their service areas, communities served, and latest news. As these projects move ahead, collaboration and new partnerships can help bring connectivity to the communities that need it most.

United Communications

$18,100,000 to expand broadband access in Maury, Rutherford, Trousdale, Williamson, and Wilson counties.

We were honored to receive the BEAD grant and see it as an important step forward in closing the digital divide across Middle Tennessee. Through this award, United Communications plans to connect approximately 1,800 unserved and underserved homes and businesses—representing roughly 4,500 residents—across Maury, Rutherford, Trousdale, Williamson, and Wilson counties, helping bring reliable high-speed fiber internet to communities that need it most. As we move forward, the work will require careful coordination and execution across a large rural footprint, but our goal is clear: to deliver the infrastructure families, businesses, and communities need to grow, compete, and stay connected for years to come.

Ben Lomand Communications

$5,000,000 to expand broadband access in Bedford, Coffee, Cumberland, and Franklin counties.

Ben Lomand Connect is excited for the people of Bedford, Coffee, Cumberland, and Franklin counties, as over $5,000,000 in BEAD grant funding has been awarded to those areas. BLC will begin the process of providing 1,754 underserved/unserved locations in those four counties, with Multi-Gig Ben Lomand Fiber, as we manage national material availability, utility make-readies, and seasonal weather conditions.

Loretto Telephone Company

$2,200,000 to expand broadband access in parts of Lawrence County.

We appreciate the funds we’ve been awarded. This grant allows us to build fiber in the southern end of Lawrence County, bringing reliable high-speed internet to 149 serviceable locations in some of the most rural areas of the county. These areas present significant challenges, as the cost to build infrastructure is exceptionally high. Having grant funding to help offset these costs makes fiber builds like this possible.

WK&T Telecommunications

$3,600,000 to expand broadband access in parts of Henry and Weakley counties.

As with past grant awards, WK&T remains committed to executing in a timely manner and looks forward to serving even more residents of West Tennessee who, up until now, have remained unserved or underserved. Within all the project area units that WK&T was awarded, there are a total of 432 serviceable locations spread across Henry and Weakley counties. The anticipated challenges are similar to any other award, but are slightly more concerning with BEAD projects due to the time that has lapsed from initial application to approval. Material availability and lead times along with staying within budget, as material and labor costs continue to rise, are top concerns. Permitting, along with environmental and historical preservation delays, will be a factor in executing in a timely manner. Our goal is to start construction by year’s end, 2026, and begin releasing locations for installation early in 2027.

Take a deeper dive by downloading their company profiles.