State Broadband Capacity Building:

As a result of the work of the MOBroadbandNow team, the Missouri Office of Administration proposes to establish a state broadband office. The office will provide direct support to the regional broadband teams, organize an annual statewide broadband summit that will report on the progress of all broadband grants received by a MOBroadbandNow partner, and leverage the regional plans created through the first phase of this project to develop a comprehensive state broadband plan.

Technical Assistance:

With this funding, the awardee will develop a centralized technical assistance team that will respond to local requests to provide assistance, advice, and technical consultations in support of new broadband deployment or adoption projects. In order to foster greater sharing of best practices, this group will also facilitate technical discussions among organizations belonging to similar Community Anchor Institution groups.

Local Regional Planning Teams:

Building on lessons learned during the pilot phase of this project, project leaders will work with the Geographic Information Officer and the Missouri Association of Councils of Government to create broadband regional technology planning teams in each of the state’s 19 regional planning commissions. These teams will leverage existing local partnerships that have been created through the BTOP and RUS grant opportunities. Two University of Missouri graduate students will benchmark the progress of each team toward meeting its stated goals.

Data Collection, Integration, and Validation:

This project was originally funded for broadband planning activities and two years of data collection. In September of 2010, this project was amended to extend data collection activities for an additional three years and to identify and implement best practices.

Address File Development:

The awardee will develop a situs point-based address file that will support more granular broadband data collection and also the needs of local governments and the public safety community. Participating agencies and localities will provide local match for the project, increasing local ownership of the activity.