JEFFERSON CITY — The state wants to make reliable internet connectivity available to every household by 2028, thanks in large part to a federal grant.
BJ Tanksley, director of the state’s Broadband Development Authority, gave an update at a recent House hearing.
The federal program gave the agency $1.7 billion in funding to expand broadband across the state. Only Texas and California received more federal funding as part of the program. Neighboring states Kansas and Illinois received $450 million and $1 billion, respectively.
In the governor’s recently released budget proposal, only $2 million of the roughly $2 billion earmarked for broadband comes from the state’s general fund.
Last year, $261 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding was allocated to broadband development. With that funding, 60 projects were approved to provide connectivity to underserved areas. Nine buildings have already been completed, Tanksley said.
“There are still a lot of places that don’t have service. Missouri has dramatic (broadband) needs,” Tanksley said.
A new online map published by the Broadband Development Authority (broadbandmap.mo.gov) shows network access levels for every address in the state and reveals that 15% of Missouri households are served by an internet provider. It shows that there is no or is underserved.
The situation is even worse in Texas counties, where approximately 38% are underserved, 14% are underserved, and a whopping 47% are underserved. We measured a standard of 25Mbps upstream and 3Mbps downstream. This is a reality the school district learned during the pandemic, when many families were left without adequate services. There are problems communicating with parents and students.
Internet providers have a strong incentive to develop in urban areas because of the large number of potential customers. Building in more rural areas is less desirable due to the smaller population and lower density.
There is one silver lining for the citizens of the city of Houston. Local governments are deploying fiber-to-the-home high-speed systems for homes and businesses. Provides speeds up to 1 GB.
Billions of dollars in federal subsidies give companies economic incentives to expand into underserved areas.
Connecting every home to the internet will require public input. The map shows your specific address, whether your home has internet access, available providers, and expected speeds.
In late March, the public will be able to review the map and report any inaccuracies in their home’s features. For example, if a map states that a home or business has access to his internet provider, but no provider is available, the owner can report the discrepancy.
The Broadband Authority will then review the complaint and determine whether it is valid, Tanksley said. He said providing this information is essential because states need to identify which areas need coverage down to the address level.
Another federal program provides $24 million to states to support digital equity. Tanksley said the Broadband Authority plans to use this to increase the public’s understanding of the digital economy, cybersecurity and how to become an internet participant.
