A fiber-to-the-home project that would serve Howell, Shannon and Texas counties received a nearly $24.8 million grant, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Monday. The funds are designed to expand high-speed broadband access in rural communities.
About $700 million was awarded for rural communities in 22 states that lack access to speeds of 100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up.
Mountain View Fiber LLC is a corporation formed by Total Highspeed LLC of Nixa, which operates wireless and fiber systems in southwest Missouri. Its principal is Travis Allen, according to state records.
According to the firm’s application, it will provide a network that will benefit 5,519 people, 298 businesses, 46 farms and 29 education facilities in the three counties. It also will participate in the Federal Communication Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program that provides discounts to qualifying customers.
“The reality is, we have faced some challenging times in rural places, and this is a president who believes strongly in ensuring that investments are made in all parts of the country from the most-populated urban centers to the most remote rural places,” USDA Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.
The USDA received this funding from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which included $65 billion to expand access to affordable high-speed broadband and reach universal connectivity by 2030.
Some of the USDA’s approved projects will help serve anywhere from just a few households to thousands, along with many businesses and farms. The Scott County Telephone Cooperative in Virginia is receiving one of the largest grants at $25 million, promising to connect more than 17,000 people, 1,018 businesses, 37 farms, and 49 educational facilities. On the smaller end, Wave Wireless in Iowa is receiving nearly $500,000 benefitting just 228 people, six businesses and nearly 40 farms.