Rural broadband leaders from around the Volunteer State announced Tuesday that the Tennessee Telecommunications Association is now the Tennessee Broadband Association.
Association President Mark Patterson, CEO of Highland Telephone Cooperative, announced the change during the annual convention Tuesday morning in Franklin.
"Working collectively, the members of the Tennessee Telecommunications Association are truly the broadband experts," he said. "The board has taken steps this year to raise awareness of that fact, in our local service areas and statewide."
The Tennessee Broadband Association and its members will continue working hard to build world-class communication networks to the state's most rural areas. This new name represents a renewed focus on providing the technology to connect the people, businesses and communities of Tennessee with today's most important piece of infrastructure: broadband.
By leveraging grant opportunities, exploring unique partnerships and investing heavily in game-changing networks, member companies are making sure all Tennesseans have an opportunity to flourish.
"As technology and customer demand have evolved over the years, the association has changed along with it," said Levoy Knowles, executive director of the association. "Now, as our member companies build the infrastructure of the future for rural Tennessee, our association's identity is better aligned with that mission.
"At any of our meetings, conventions or conference calls, it's broadband, broadband, broadband that we are discussing," Knowles added. "It's been that way for years, and I think our board made the right decision at the right time to put this flag in the ground and say we are the rural broadband experts in our state."
