The Missouri Department of Economic Development has awarded Charter Communications nearly $12 million in grants for three broadband deployment projects in Missouri. A total of $261 million was awarded, with the balance going to 11 smaller providers.
The smaller providers included electric cooperatives such as Co-Mo Comm, Conexon Connect, Osage Valley Electric Cooperative Association, Sac Osage Electric Cooperative, SEMO Electric Cooperative and White River Valley Electric Cooperative.
Also among the awardees were independent telecom providers such as Chariton Valley Communications, Choctaw Telephone Company, Green Hills Telephone Corporation, New Florence Telephone Company, and Steelville Telephone Exchange.
The biggest winner in the Missouri announcement was White River Valley Electric Cooperative, which was awarded over $47 million for seven projects.
The Missouri broadband funding program, known as the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program, was launched in August 2022 using funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). More than 55,000 unserved and underserved locations in the state will gain access to broadband at speeds of at least 100 Mbps downstream and 100 Mbps upstream through the program.
Charter said in December that it had applications pending for state and local broadband funding to serve 300,000 locations.
A full list of projects receiving Missouri broadband funding can be found at this link.
