Fiber optic connections a bigger deal than hearing the Grand Ol' Opry on the radio "all the way from Nashville"

The radio seemed like a great thing at one time, but now the world is coming to Russell County via fiber optic telecommunications, because the federal Economic Development Administration will provide over $1 million in funding that "would allow Cumberland Plateau and Bristol Virginia Utilities to build the fiber-optic system along 51 miles of American Electric Power lines in Russell and Tazewell counties," as reported here and here and here.