Funding | Legal and Regulatory

No, Missouri Law Does Not Prohibit Political Subdivisions From Offering Internet Service to Its Residents and Businesses

ByMarc McCarty

No, Missouri Law Does Not Prohibit Political Subdivisions From Offering Internet Service to Its Residents and Businesses That statement might come as a surprise to some folks.  Some articles have stated – without qualification — that Missouri law bars political subdivisions (such as cities, counties, municipal utilities, school districts and other local government entities from…

The FCC’s RDOF Award Announcement – Good News, but Only One Step toward Closing the Digital Divide
Funding

The FCC’s RDOF Award Announcement – Good News, but Only One Step toward Closing the Digital Divide

ByMarc McCarty

Some quick reaction to Monday’s FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Auction Award Announcement: It’s good news of course! – Over $346 million allocated to seventeen providers that proposed to bring gigabit level service to almost 200,000 (199,211) locations through-out Missouri.  On average – that means the Federal government is offering to contribute about $1,740…

Planning

Rural Access to Industry: Barriers from the Infrastructure Planning Front Lines

Bycanfieldci

As part of this research initiative, we conducted a qualitative analysis of 11 semi-structured interviews with the planning community in Missouri to identify what barriers they recognize for the deployment of rural broadband in Missouri. Participants reported that the return on investment and the financing of rural broadband projects constitute the main barriers. Technology was…

Legal and Regulatory

New Missouri Statute Encourages Public-Private Partnerships for Broadband Infrastructure

ByMarc McCarty

9-3-2020 New Missouri Statute Encourages Public-Private Partnerships for Broadband Infrastructure For many years Missouri cities and counties have used Community Improvement Districts (CID) and Neighborhood Improvement Districts (NID) to finance public infrastructure and to encourage economic development in designated geographic areas (“districts”) located within their borders.  CIDs and NIDs are well-suited for this purpose, because…