Missouri

BJ Tanksley has been the director of Missouri’s broadband office since 2022 and has lived and breathed rural broadband for even longer. Previously, Tanksley was director of state and local legislative affairs for the Missouri Farm Bureau, where he served on a committee that developed a proposal for a program that would cover some of the costs of deploying high-speed broadband in rural areas where it wasn’t available.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has recommended for award more than $250 million to 24 organizations to support digital skills and inclusion projects in communities across the country. The funding will support 24 projects across 39 states and territories. Awards will be issued following budget review and processing. 

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced more than $313 million in funding to connect rural residents, farmers and business owners in 18 states to reliable high-speed internet.

With the help of funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Mayor Tishaura O. Jones’ administration, in partnership with the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC), began installing free WiFi in nine city parks. To advance Digital Equity in the City of St.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau announced that certain Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) census block groups (CBG) are now eligible for other funding programs.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today has approved and recommended for award applications from Delaware, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Puerto Rico allowing them to request access to more than $68 million to implement their Digital Equity Plans. This funding comes from the $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, one of three Digital Equity Act grant programs created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The awards received are:

Rise Broadband announced it has acquired MidAtlantic Broadband’s 100% fiber-to-the-home broadband/internet business in Missouri. Operating under the Yondoo Broadband brand, MidAtlantic Broadband’s business in Missouri adds almost 10,000 residential and commercial locations across eight markets in the eastern part of the State. With this acquisition, Rise Broadband will now provide service in the cities of Kahoka, Canton, La Grange, Bowling Green, Elsberry, Potosi, Belle, and Bland in Missouri. 100% of homes passed are serviceable with fiber-optic service. 

In the creation of its Initial Proposals Volume 1 and  Volume 2 for Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding, the Missouri Office of Broadband and Development (OBD) laid out three goals. In its first goal, OBD recognizes the need for high-quality, affordable broadband for all residents in the state. According to the U.S.

Even though UScellular plans to sell off big chunks of its spectrum and subscribers to T-Mobile, that's not stopping the regional wireless carrier from pursuing its fixed wireless access (FWA) ambitions—even if that means going head to head with T-Mobile in some regions. In fact, now UScellular is working with Tarana Wireless to increase its FWA capacity in West Plains, Missouri, a town where the demand for FWA is high. So high that the carrier has been getting such good uptake of its fixed wireless in West Plains that it was about to run out of capacity on its mobile network.