Missouri gets $1.9 million federal grant for broadband

Missouri's efforts to expand broadband coverage to more than 90 percent of the state population are getting a $1.9 million boost from a federal grant program.

State officials announced Monday that Missouri will get a federal Recovery Act grant as a first step to expand Internet access. The money will be used to map current broadband services in the state, identify service gaps and work with local leaders to plan service expansion.

Of the total grant money received, $1.5 million will go toward mapping and data collection, with an additional $470,000 going to create a regional broadband adoption plan.

Missouri was one of six states to receive the grants, which came from the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

The grant is a small portion of the $142 million the state requested for its MoBroadbandNow program, announced Aug. 12 with the goal of increasing the state's broadband service from 80 percent to 92 percent of the population.

State officials said they are continuing to secure federal funding for 2,500 miles of fiber-optic cable and the construction of 200 broadband towers.

"We will continue to aggressively pursue these federal funds for infrastructure development, even as we now use this $1.9 million for mapping and planning," Gov. Jay Nixon said in a news release. "There are a multitude of benefits to education, healthcare, commerce and consumers from having broadband reach into every corner of Missouri, and we will continue our work to make this a reality."