(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture will invest nearly $10 million to provide broadband internet service in rural Tennessee, President Donald Trump's administration announced Wednesday.

The investment will connect an estimated 1,658 rural households to high-speed broadband, providing internet access to more than 4,000 Tennesseans in Benton, Giles and Lincoln counties. According to the USDA, 263 farms, 28 businesses, four educational facilities and one fire station are within the zone of coverage.

“The need for rural broadband has never been more apparent than it is now – as our nation manages the coronavirus national emergency," U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said in a statement. "Access to telehealth services, remote learning for school children, and remote business operations all require access to broadband.”

The investment is part of USDA’s $650 million ReConnect program, partially funded with federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act dollars. ReConnect provides grants and loans to construct or improve broadband service in rural areas across the country.

Funds will come in the form of a $4.9 million grant and $4.9 million loan to the Ardmore Telephone Company.

The $10 million federal investment comes in addition to Gov. Bill Lee’s $61 million investment of CARES Act funding in broadband expansion, announced last month.

“Thank you, [President Trump] and [Secretary Perdue] for investing nearly $10 million to provide high-speed broadband internet service in rural Tennessee,” Gov. Bill Lee wrote on Twitter.