Governor Greitens launches rural broadband initiative
Governor Eric Greitens announced yesterday that the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) in partnership with the Missouri Department of Agriculture is launching a statewide initiative to expand broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas. Missouri’s rural communities are at a competitive disadvantage for business development, healthcare, and farming techniques because of a lack of high-speed internet.
“We are working for every single Missourian. That’s why we’re proud to announce today that we’re launching a joint initiative between the Department of Economic Development and the Department of Agriculture to get broadband access to our rural communities. This new effort will bring every resource to bear to connect Missourians across our state,” said Governor Eric Greitens.
The FCC Broadband Progress Report shows that 1.25 million Missourians don’t have access to high-speed Internet. Most of those citizens reside in rural communities.