ST. LOUIS — The Office of Broadband Development has just released a new tool for Missouri. The interactive map shows where you can and can’t get high speed internet. It is part of a plan by the federal government to spend $1.7 billion through a program called Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) to make internet access better and available to more people.
This map was developed for the BEAD challenge. This is when people can tell the government about places that don’t have reliable or fast internet, but should. This challenge starts on March 18, 2024, and ends on April 19, 2024. If you want to know right when it starts, you can sign up to get emails from the Office of Broadband Development.
The Show-Me State ranks low nationally for high-speed internet access, with more than 400,000 homes without access at all. There are 337,000 locations without access to internet speeds of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload, which are considered unserved.
What are the advantages to high speed internet? Broadband significantly enhances remote learning and work opportunities, allows for advanced communication services like VoIP, enables quick telemedicine consultations, improves access to cultural and educational resources, supports streaming services, and streamlines online shopping.
Justin Fazzari from Sanborn, the company that helped make the map, says this tool is designed to make sure everything is fair and follows the rules during the BEAD challenge. It’s also going to help internet companies decide where to work on improving internet access.
