On March 27, a group of 55 Missouri stakeholders sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick urging him to allow Missouri's BEAD and Digital Opportunity programs to proceed without delay or federal interference. Co-signers include six internet service providers (ISP), fifteen bipartisan state legislators, and high-ranking officials from the Farm Bureau, municipalities, universities, digital navigator organizations, healthcare providers, and members of Missouri's Show Me Broadband coalition. 

Read the full letter below.
 

RE: BEAD and DO Implementation  

Dear Secretary Lutnick: Show Me Broadband is a coalition of Missouri’s farmers, municipalities, elected officials, internet service providers, realtors, financial institutions, libraries, nonprofits, and regional development organizations.

We come from different backgrounds but are united by the belief that every Missourian should have access to fast, reliable, affordable internet service. We are closer now to this goal than we have ever been, and we need your help!

Thanks to $1.7 billion awarded to Missouri through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, our most disconnected communities will finally receive the fast, reliable and affordable broadband service they need and deserve.

After three years of preparation, with the input of everyone across the state, the Missouri Office of Broadband (OBD) is now beginning to close in on the final stages of awarding the funds to serve every Missourian, through both the BEAD and Digital Opportunity programs. And, so far, it is going well. The states that have finished their BEAD process—Louisiana, Nevada and Delaware—have achieved a high percentage of fiber while still incorporating wireless and satellite technologies where needed.

Missouri is about to achieve similar success. There are approximately 200,000 unserved locations in Missouri and the first call for applications resulted in receiving applications for 90% of these unserved locations. All applications were fiber based and OBD plans to include other forms of technology where necessary to ensure that every Missourian has access to high quality and affordable service.

For the Digital Opportunity (DO) program, the Missouri OBD has developed a plan to address the full range of digital needs—skills for agriculture workers, use of telehealth, personal finance and entrepreneurship, online safety, education and government efficiency. Over $14 million is available for such purposes, but we are concerned that that funding may be in jeopardy.

We understand that no program is perfect and that changes in administration lead to changes in policy. Indeed, there are many changes we would welcome. However, we believe that these programs should remain with the states and be given flexibility regarding the changes that fit for Missouri.

The federal approach to broadband programs in the past—most recently exemplified by the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund—has created obstacles that Missouri is still having to overcome. By contrast, Missouri’s BEAD and DO programs have been designed by and for state stakeholders, and we ask that any programmatic changes be left to states’ discretion.

Missouri is almost at the end and the future for broadband in Missouri looks good. At this stage, federally mandated changes would disrupt this progress and delay deployment by years. Changes can also impact the quality of broadband services and leave holes for the future— “providing something is not good enough”.

Roughly one in four rural Missourians do not have access to broadband. But they soon will IF our BEAD program is allowed to proceed.

We, the undersigned group of Show Me Broadband members, State Legislators and stakeholders across the state, respectfully request that state BEAD and DO programs be allowed to proceed without delay in Missouri. We are all working together to make broadband a reality, now and for the future. Give Missouri the opportunity to succeed and let us finish with the plans that we have in place.

Thank you, 
 

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all people in the U.S. have access to competitive, High-Performance Broadband regardless of where they live or who they are. We believe communication policy - rooted in the values of access, equity, and diversity - has the power to deliver new opportunities and strengthen communities.

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