Sep 30 2010
Sunset Digital Communications will receive a grant from the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The company will receive $24.5 million to deploy the broadband backbone in Claiborne and Hancock counties in Tennessee, and another $20.2 million to extend the LENOWISCO Rural Area Network (RAN) in Wise and Lee counties in Virginia.
The projects, known as the Transform Tennessee, and the Advance Virginia, will offer high-speed fiber-optic broadband services to two financially challenged areas of the country. The network will also offer VoIP telephone and IP Television services, in addition to the maximum connection speed of 1 Gbps.
The funding will allow broadband services to be offered to more 5,000 users, and generate 146 jobs. The broadband service is also likely to generate another 700 jobs in the region.
Sunset Digital’s Chief Executive Officer, Paul Elswick stated that the deployments would cause a substantial increase in the economy of the region. Elswick added that the economy in Southwest Virginia has increased by over $50 million in investments from corporate sector, after the deployment of the RAN.