A meeting to discuss broadband development in the region was hosted Friday at The Centre in Rolla. Hosted by the Missouri Department of Economic Development’s Office of Broadband Development, the meeting sought public comment from citizens, local governments and broadband providers on the unique challenges facing those trying to bring broadband coverage to more areas in southwest Missouri.
“We’ve got a lot of holes where there’s very little to no good internet service in a large part of the county,” said Darrell Skiles, presiding commissioner of Dent County. “We’ve got Aptitude Internet, and the Convergence gentlemen here, and I’m very hopeful and optimistic that they are going to come in and fill some of those holes.”
The meeting was part of the Connecting All Missourians program, funded by the Digital Equity Act and the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. According to the Missouri Department of Economic Development’s website, the purpose of the public outreach is to “Inform the state’s plans for spending more than $100 million toward broadband deployment and more than $20 million toward addressing non-infrastructure barriers to full participation in the digital world.”
Representatives from the Office of Broadband Development spoke about the existing coverage in the area, as well as what services are available to residents. Coverage maps showed significant portions of many counties in southeast Missouri that lack basic broadband service.
“We can see large areas really struggling with service,” said Adam Thorp, a Community Development Specialist with the Office of Broadband Development. They also looked at user speed tests in certain areas. Thorp went on to say, “If you get enough speed tests in an area you can begin to get a sense of what sort of internet is available.”
The meeting also considered the costs of providing service to unserved or underserved locations.
“When we’re talking about three houses per mile, the cost is so high we have to be careful how we spend these public funds,” said Director of Broadband Development B.J. Tanksley,
The second half of the meeting focused on public comment and addressing the needs of customers, local governments, state agencies and internet service providers.
“We want to hear from you to help inform these proposals,” said Tanksley. “We need to know what hasn’t worked in these previous programs. This isn’t the first time people have gone around the state talking about an unprecedented opportunity to invest in broadband, we want to know where those programs fell short, so we’re not coming around again a decade from now if we do not have to.”
Several private citizens brought up concerns such as cost, ease of access and availability of new and faster services. There were also comments and questions from internet service providers, as well as representatives from a variety of local and state agencies.
“This money will flow through our office, we’ll submit a series of proposals to the federal government for how we are going to spend this money, and how we are going to conduct grant programs to allow providers to bid to serve,” said Tanksley. “Much of this money will get out to the state, and we’ll start getting broadband services to people.”
Noah Washburn, a Statewide Extension and Engagement Specialist with the University of Missouri Office of Engagement, says the meetings help write federal grant proposals that reflect what residents really want.
“We’ve been around 22 of these all over the state, and we’re getting some really good stuff. And it’s going to help us get the money we need to get broadband to every house that wants it in the state,” said Washburn. “Honestly, I think Missouri is way ahead on what it’s doing right now. They’re doing a really great job – (the state) if not ahead, is working really close at the top. We have a lot of rural, and that’s where the government’s going to put a lot of money, and that’s where people need it.”
