Missouri Broadband Grant Program Extended Through 2027

A bill signed in July by Gov. Mike Parson extends the Missouri Broadband Grant Program through 2027, which provides resources to build broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas of Missouri.

The program was created in 2018 and set to expire in 2021. The first round of funding included $5 million.

More than 1.2 million Missourians — 20 percent of the state’s population — lack affordable access to high-speed internet. Around 1.04 million of those Missourians live in rural areas. 

Missouri is one of the worst states in the country for broadband access. 

Purdue University did a study in 2018 on the digital divide, calling it “the number one threat to community economic development in the 21st century.”

The DDI ranges from 0 to 100, with 100 indicating the highest divide. The higher the score, the more effort is needed to improve broadband infrastructure.

As a state Missouri scored 55.46. 

Franklin County scored 18.8. The study found the median download is 25 megabits per second (Mbps) and the population with no access to high speed internet at 24.8 percent.

Grant Program

Parson signed HB 1768, which extended the program, on July 2.

Grant recipients that do not meet the speed requirement of 25 megabits per second must repay any funds received through the program, according to a press release from Parson’s office.

The funding can only be used to pay for the costs associated with the deployment of broadband to unserved or underserved areas defined as:

• An unserved area is a project area without access to wireline or fixed wireless broadband internet service with speeds of at least 10 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 1 Mbps upload.
• An underserved area is a project area that currently has a minimum of 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload, but does not yet achieve 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload (e.g. has speeds between 10/1 and 25/3 Mbps download/upload).
• Applicants can fund only the acquisition and installation of retail broadband internet service with baseline speeds of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload in the area proposed to be served. Examples of generally eligible project costs include:
• Construction of broadband facilities,
• Final engineering and construction plans,
• Permitting,
• Installation, and
• Validation of service.

Economic Benefit

The Missouri Farm Bureau had been pushing for the extension since early 2020. Eric Bohl, the director of public affairs and advocacy, praised Parson for signing the bill and said the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the need for reliable internet access.

“Connecting rural Missouri is a long-term challenge, but we are making progress,” Bohl said. “We will need more strong leadership like this in the coming years to reach our goal of bringing every Missourian access to affordable broadband.”

Dr. Casey Canfield, a systems expert at Missouri S&T in Rolla, interviewed 16 of Missouri’s 19 regional planning commissions to determine what prevents rural communities from accessing broadband.

Canfield found that hardware costs and financing are the biggest barriers.

“Return on investment is immediately what everyone cites as the top barrier to broadband,” says Canfield.

In addition to these costs, Canfield says RPCs rely on federal and state funding for their planning time, and because there are few funds with which to charge their time, it is harder for them to work on broadband issues.  

“If people agree that RPCs should be an important group in planning broadband efforts, they need funding to do that,” Canfield said in a release issued by Missouri S&T.

Canfield said broadband may not initially provided a good return on investment, but it could spur economic development in rural areas.

“If the area does not have internet, are people going to want to live there?” says Canfield. “When I’ve talked to the regional planning commissions, that’s one of the concerns they have – the desirability of an area.”