Senator Roy Blunt wants to open the doors to electric cooperatives to help solve a problem with broadband access across the state. The Senator met this week with representatives from the state’s electric cooperatives regarding a recent spending bill that includes $600 million for a rural broadband pilot grant and loan program. The bill targets areas with little or no coverage. Jim Petropolis from Co-Mo Connect says their broadband program has shown that electric cooperatives can play a big role in providing coverage.
Petropolis says they’ll also pursue some of the $2 billion in funds made available to co-ops through an FCC reverse auction plan later this summer. Those funds are also designed to help co-ops begin or expand broadband services.
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