Nearly $255 Million Awarded to Missouri for Rural Broadband—McCaskill Statement
Missouri awarded more than any other state in federal auction to expand rural broadband; Senator, who called on agency to enact safeguards to ensure rural communities benefit from auction, pledges continued oversight
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, who has long fought to expand broadband to rural communities throughout Missouri, applauded today’s announcement by the Federal Communications Commission that nearly $255 million was awarded to eleven companies over the next ten years to expand broadband to Missourians in rural communities. Missouri received more awards than any other state.
“There’s more work to be done, but this is an important step toward connecting rural communities throughout Missouri with high-speed broadband—a service that is only becoming more and more necessary for small businesses, farmers, healthcare providers, students and schools,” McCaskill said. “I will continue to monitor this first-of-its-kind program to ensure the agency and the winning bidders are delivering on the promises they made to rural Missouri.”
The Federal Communications Commission today announced the results of its Connect America Fund Phase II auction, which awarded nearly $1.5 billion over ten years to support expansion of rural broadband service to unserved areas across 45 states. Eleven Missouri providers were awarded a total of $254.8 million over ten years—the most of any state. More than 60 percent of Missourians in rural areas do not have broadband access.
Earlier this year, in anticipation of this auction, McCaskill urged the agency to ensure broadband providers can deliver on rural service for Missourians, asking the agency to implement strong upfront oversight safeguards against waste and abuse.
McCaskill—a leading voice in the Senate for improving access to rural broadband—is also backing a bipartisan push to improve broadband internet access in Missouri’s rural communities to ensure farmers and ranchers can take advantage of precision agriculture technology to better compete in the global market. McCaskill also voted in support of the Senate’s bipartisan Farm Bill, which authorizes $150 million annually for rural broadband deployment support. Additionally, McCaskill introduced the Community Broadband Act, which would improve internet access in rural areas by protecting the rights of communities to build municipal broadband networks.
Visit mccaskill.senate.gov/
###
