The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Aug. 4 awarded $49.1 million for three Missouri Internet companies to help bring broadband Internet access to schools, businesses, health care providers and consumers in parts of central, southeast and southwest Missouri.
Seymour-based Finally Broadband, Cape Girardeau-based Big River Telephone Co. and Columbia-based Socket Telecom have been chosen to be a part of Gov. Jay Nixon's MoBroadbandNow initiative, according to a news release from the governor's office. Nixon
created the initiative last year in hopes of expanding the reach of broadband across the state.
“Just as the railroads and interstates transformed Missouri communities in decades past, these projects will help connect many more areas of Missouri with the information superhighway of the future,” Nixon said in the release.
The funds will be distributed as such:
- Finally Broadband will use $500,000 in grants and $500,000 in loans to help provide broadband service in Texas and Wright counties, and parts of Ozark and Shannon counties.
- Socket Telecom will receive $16.6 million in grants and $7.1 million in loans to provide fiber-to-home services to parts of eastern Boone County and western Callaway County.
- Big River will use $12.2 million in grants and $12.2 million in loans to create a broadband network reaching 90 percent of the homes in its service area, including Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Madison, Perry, St. Francois, Saint Genevieve and Washington counties.
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