Missouri receives millions for rural broadband expansion

Missouri Senator Roy Blunt on Thursday commended the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s announcement that it is investing an additional $91.5 million in grant funding through the ReConnect Pilot Program to expand rural broadband in Missouri.

The Fiscal Year 2020 government funding bill, backed by Blunt, included $550 million for the program, which targets areas that currently lack access to broadband and includes provisions that prevent overbuilding existing infrastructure.

“The pandemic has brought even more attention to how critical connectivity is to education, health care, and jobs,” Blunt said in a news release Thursday. “Ending the digital divide will level the playing field for people in rural areas who haven’t had the same opportunities to compete and succeed. I’ll continue working to ensure we have the policies and resources in place to address one of the most important economic and quality of life issues facing our rural areas.”

With today’s announcement, Missouri has received nearly $200 million in funding through the program over the past two years, including: $3 million in August 2020; $60.9 million in January 2020; and $41.6 million in November 2019.