Gov. Bill Haslam signed a bill that will make it easier for rural areas to get access to the internet.

The Republican governor signed the Broadband Accessibility Act of 2017 at a ceremony in Brownsville on Tuesday afternoon.

The measure clears the way for nonprofit electric co-ops, like Duck River Electric Co-Op to start providing both internet and video service. It also provides $45 million in grants and tax credits to co-ops and internet service providers, like AT&T and Comcast, to encourage the development of internet in areas that don't have it.

A last-minute change adopted by lawmakers lowered the minimum internet speed requirement from download speeds from the federal definition of 25 megabits per second to 10 megabits per second.

Source:

Partner Station WMSR