Request for Public Input Connecting All Missourians 2023
DED has released drafts of its State Digital Opportunity Plan and BEAD Initial Proposal Volume 1 for public comment and is requesting public feedback. These documents will inform the state’s plans for spending more than $1.7 billion toward broadband deployment and more than $20 million toward addressing non-infrastructure barriers to full participation in the digital world.
The Digital Opportunity Plan establishes Missouri’s vision for digital opportunity, including overarching strategies and goals to bridge the digital divide.
The BEAD program promises to bring service to every Missouri location lacking service. The Initial Proposal Volume 1 lays out the rules by which OBD will determine eligibility for the BEAD program and conduct a statewide broadband map challenge process.
You may provide input through the surveys until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, November 26, 2023. If you are unable to submit comments online, you may submit comments by contacting DED at 573-751-4962.
Thank you to all of those who attended the Connecting All Missourians Regional Listening Sessions. The feedback provided will guide the creation of a 5-year Infrastructure Plan and Missouri’s Digital Equity Plan as Missouri prepares to pursue federal broadband funding to connect unserved and underserved Missourians. Presentation slides from the meetings are now available for download: https://ded2.mo.gov/…/kaysinger-basin-presentation-slides
Bonnie Prigge, Executive Director – Meramec Regional Planning Commission, represented MACOG at the second annual Missouri Broadband Stakeholder Summit on November 7, 2023. In front of a crowd of over 100 internet service providers and community stakeholders, Ms. Prigge detailed the results of the MACOG/State of Missouri Statewide Broadband Planning Project, which highlights the unserved and underserved areas of the state and provides pro-forma recommendations on how broadband deployment can take place in the most critical unserved areas in each RPC region.
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