The hundreds of millions in proposed broadband funding for Missouri would address a wide range of state needs, from new towers to digital literacy training.
Last summer, Gov. Mike Parson announced plans to invest $400 million in expanding internet access throughout Missouri. Specific plans for spending the money to accomplish that goal were then laid out in the governor's proposed budget, which he released Jan. 19.
The proposed broadband investment would cost closer to $471.1 million, with $414.9 million coming from federal COVID-19 relief dollars supplied through the American Rescue Plan Act.
The biggest investment is $250 million for broadband infrastructure, which will be doled out to private internet providers in the form of grants administered by the Missouri Department of Economic Development.
The grants would go toward developing internet infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas of the state.
In his State of the State speech, Parson said the proposed broadband investment is the largest in Missouri history and would connect 75,000 households to high-speed internet.
"This is another core investment we are making for the next generation and the future of our state," he said.
Maggie Kost, acting director of the Department of Economic Development, said there are an estimated 77,000 households in Missouri that don't have access to broadband internet services at all, and even more that don't have access to service speeds necessary for telehealth and online learning programs.
Data from the Federal Communications Commission indicates there are roughly 147,046 households and 392,364 individuals in the state that are unserved or underserved by internet providers.
"Certainly for those areas -- over half of rural Missouri -- that lack access to broadband, that puts them at a significant disadvantage when it comes to education, when it comes to running a business, when it comes to health care," Kost said.
Missouri's former broadband director testified before a House subcommittee in September the planned $400 million investment likely wouldn't be enough to completely take care of the state's broadband needs. He left the state earlier this month for a job in the private sector.
Parson's planned investment also includes $56.2 million out of the state's operating budget to strengthen broadband infrastructure grants the state offers to internet providers and local communities that have plans to build internet infrastructure in rural or underserved areas of the state. The funding is on top of the $250 million in grants that are funded by ARPA.
With the amount of investments going into the state, Kost said it's a critical moment to define what the future of Missouri looks like.
Parson has set aside another $30 million to fund the construction of 100 cell towers under the Broadband Cell Tower Program, which would allow cell towers on public lands to be retrofitted, revamped or built new in an effort to support suburban and urban coverage, and encourage cell carriers and wireless internet providers to expand wireless capacity.
"To do 5G and those kinds of things, you have to have broadband to those cell towers and there are many areas of the state -- both urban and rural -- that don't have broadband to those towers," State Budget Director Dan Haug said. "This will provide much better coverage throughout the whole state for the 5G for people on their phones."
Kost said Missouri is ranked seventh in the nation for the number of people relying on cellular data to access the internet.
"That's not one that we should be proud of," she said. "And that's something that we're going to address through these investments."
A portion of the broadband money would also support upgrades to critical community functions, like providing healthcare and responding to emergencies.
The governor is suggesting $34 million to provide telehealth and telemedicine access in rural counties across the state.
Haug said the funding will be used to equip rural hospitals, clinics and other healthcare providers with the internet resources and equipment needed to offer telehealth programs, which allow doctors to see patients without an in-person visit.
The budget also appropriates $8 million to implement Next Generation 911 GIS standards to the entire state, which would improve emergency calling and dispatching.
Most original 911 systems need to be upgraded to digital or internet-based systems to improve response times, reliability and accuracy of data, the National 911 Program website states. Upgraded systems also allow the public to send 911 operators photos, video and text messages in addition to calls.
Sandy Karsten, director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety, said the proposed investments represent a comprehensive approach to public safety in the state, tackling everything from attracting new officers to mapping and dispatch.
"We see that 911 mapping is going to be very critical for many areas in the state, but we also see that there's major investments in technology that will increase the capacity of our Missouri statewide interoperability network that over 1,400 agencies use to communicate," Karsten said.
In a similar vein, $13.3 million is being proposed to improve cellular and radio network capacity and coverage for first responders around the Capitol Complex.
Parson would also use a portion of broadband funds to have a more direct impact on Missourians.
He's proposing $30 million to assist Missourians who can't afford their monthly internet bill and another $30 million would go to nonprofits to help Missourians develop digital literacy skills.
And $9.6 million would bring public wifi to Missouri State Parks.
"Missouri has got some of the best state parks in the country and one of the things we're seeing is when people are camping or using the cabins, they want that Wi-Fi," Haug said. "We think this is something that's really going to enhance our state parks."
The state could also use some ARPA funds to better its understanding of internet coverage in different parts of the state.
Parson is suggesting $10 million go to the Office of Broadband Development, housed under the Department of Economic Development, to launch and maintain broadband coverage mapping.
Kost said the Office of Broadband Development hasn't been able to get an accurate assessment of broadband coverage around the state.
"We know that the data under-represents the problem across the state," she said.
The $10 million could also be used by the Office of Broadband Development to provide feasibility analysis, planning and technical support to local broadband efforts around the state.