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access to 17th-best in 2023, according
to BroadbandNow. That ranking is a 12-spot improvement from the 2017 state rankings.
The Broadband Divide
Here is a look at the nation’s No.1 and No.50 states, as well as Tennessee and neighboring states in BroadbandNow’s “Best & Worst States for Broadband, 2023.” While only the states’ populations for broadband access and average download speeds are listed below, BroadbandNow considered several more factors for their final rankings.
While BroadbandNow’s Best and Worst rankings provide an overall success story for the state, it overshadows Tennessee’s existing inequalities in high-speed internet accessibility.
Haves/Have Not
A look at Tennessee’s broadband infrastructure provides a true picture
of areas in the state having sufficient internet capability and areas that don’t. While broadband internet infrastructure is available to more than 95% of Tennesseans, high-speed connection remains unavailable to many residents and businesses.
Taking a BEAD on ‘The Digital Divide’
Tennessee’s $813.3 million in BEAD funding is based on the state’s number
of un- and under-served locations. Each state received a baseline allocation of $100 million in BEAD money, with additional funding calculated and divided by the nationwide total of unserved and underserved broadband internet areas. While Texas received the largest allotment of BEAD funding ($3.3 billion), Tennessee’s neighboring states
of Missouri ($1.7 billion), North Carolina ($1.53 billion), Virginia ($1.48 billion), Alabama ($1.4 billion) and Georgia ($1.3 billion) were among the nation’s top eight in BEAD allotments.
Since learning their BEAD allotments in late-June, states have been busy working on their BEAD Initial Plans, which must be submitted to the NTIA by December 27. BEAD Initial Plans, which outline
the state’s strategies, goals and initiatives they’ll intend using to address broadband access and deployment, were required
to go through a 60-day public comment/ review period before being submitted
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2024, Issue 3