Missouri is one step closer to establishing reliable, high-speed internet for underserved and unserved areas statewide, following the finalization of its federal funding proposal.
The state’s final proposal for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, a federal initiative established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, calls for investing more than $700 million to expand broadband access across Missouri.
The Missouri Department of Economic Development said the plan would save nearly $1 billion of the $1.7 billion allocated BEAD federal funds. The final plan hopes to provide 81% of targeted locations with fiber-based service.
The state’s office of broadband development ended its public comment period for the proposal in September before submitting the plan to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for review. NTIA must approve Missouri’s plans before BEAD projects can begin construction.
Once approved and permitted, funded projects will have four years to complete their committed deployments.
Missouri had the third most locations in the nation with less than ideal access to internet services, according to the Missouri Office of Broadband Development (OBD), trailing only California and Texas.
The state’s OBD worked for nearly three years to create the initial proposals for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which oversees the federal program. The department targeted the most optimal locations for implementation based on the availability of service before opening applications to provide grants to recipients around those areas, OBD said.
The plan also proposed investing over $450 million in businesses, while leveraging $400 million in private investment.
OBD selected 42 internet service providers selected to aid in implementation, with 29 of them being Missouri-based businesses.
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