Missouri has gotten more than 100 million dollars in federal grants to expand highb-speed inernet in rural areas and more might be coming.
The latest grants are from the Department of Agriculture, 49-million dollars worth:
Big River will use $24.4 million ($12.2 million in grants and $12.2 million in loans) to create a Missouri has gotten more than 100-million federal dollars to expand high-speed internet access broadband network reaching 90 percent of the homes in their service area, which includes Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Madison, Perry, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve and Washington counties.
Socket Telecom will use $23.7 million ($16.6 million in grants and $7.1 million in loans) to provide a fiber-to-home project to portions of eastern Boone County and western Callaway County; the project will include Millersburg and portions of Fulton.
Finally Broadband will use $1 million ($500,000 in grants and $500,000 in loans) to help provide broadband service in Texas and Wright counties, and portions of Ozark and Shannon counties.
A grant award of $12.3 million to Grand River Mutual Telephone Corp. for serving Linn and Sullivan counties;
A grant award of $8.9 million to Grand River Mutual Telephone Corp. for serving Gentry, Harrison and Worth counties;
A grant award of $604,000 to Orchard Farm Telephone Co. for serving St. Charles County;
An award of $249,000 ($187,000 grant, $62,000 loan) to Utopian Wireless for serving the area in and around Benton, in Scott County; and
A grant award of $10.3 million to Windstream Corp. for serving portions of Barry, Benton, Butler, Daviess, Greene, Lawrence, Maries, McDonald, Miller, Morgan, Newton, Oregon, Phelps, Polk, Pulaski, Putnam, Ripley and Wayne counties.
In January, Ralls County Electric Cooperative got $19.1 million to expand high-speed internet service in its northeast Missouri service area.
State Commissioner of Administration Kelvin Simmons likes Missouri’s chances for more money through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration by the end of next month.
Governor Nixon, who set up the MoBroadbandNow initiative last year, says the expansion programs are critical for economic development, education, and medical care in rural areas.