HALLS, TN - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announces the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has invested $2,856,167 in high-speed broadband infrastructure. The investment will create or improve e-Connectivity for 347 rural households in Tennessee. This is the first of many funding announcements in the first round of USDA’s ReConnect Pilot Program investments.

“Our core mission at USDA is to increase rural prosperity through boosting economic opportunity in rural America,” Secretary Perdue said. “We know that rural communities need robust, modern infrastructure to thrive, and that includes having access to broadband e-Connectivity. Under the leadership of President Trump, USDA is proud to partner with rural communities to deploy this critical infrastructure, because we know when rural America thrives, all of America thrives.”

Tennessee’s Forked Deer Electric Cooperative will use a ReConnect Program grant to deploy a fiber to the home (FTTH) broadband network capable of simultaneous transmission rates of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) or greater. The funded service areas include 347 households and one critical community facility spread over approximately 435 square miles. The project will facilitate more access to services and information for area residents, and it will improve the overall quality of life for people in these communities.