Pilot broadband cost overrun grant

The West Kentucky Rural Telephone Cooperative Corp Inc., doing business as West Kentucky & Tennessee Telecommunications Cooperative, received a $2.21 million project grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service on April 6, 2023. The grant was awarded under the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Loans and Grants program to address cost overruns for the delivery of telemedicine and distance learning services in Mayfield, Kentucky. As a not-for-profit organization providing telecommunications services to rural communities, West Kentucky Rural Telephone Cooperative Corp Inc. will utilize the funding to support broadband infrastructure deployment enabling the expansion of telemedicine and distance learning projects. Through previous federal grant awards from the Rural Utilities Service including an $11.8 million project in 2020, the organization has partnered with the Kentucky Department of Military Affairs to provide public utility and broadband services facilitating improved access to educational and healthcare resources for rural populations.