Big River applying again for stimulus money to provide high-speed Internet

Big River Telephone Co. is trying a second time to receive $24 million in federal stimulus funds to bring high-speed Internet access to seven Southeast Missouri counties.

Kevin Cantwell, president of Big River, will learn late this summer if his company's request for a $12 million grant and a $12 million loan as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is approved. Big River is committing $4 million toward the total $28 million project cost.

"This is not about getting e-mail quicker but about economic development, educational growth and the creation of jobs," Cantwell said. "It's an exciting opportunity to change the way of life for our area."

Big River's proposal, which has been recommended for federal approval by Gov. Jay Nixon, Sen. Claire McCaskill and Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, would provide high-speed wireless Internet access to 44,967 households, 7,511 businesses, 61 schools and 143 medical providers, according to the application.

Big River is part of the MoBroadbandNow initiative, a private-public partnership launched last year to compete for federal funds for Missouri.

Counties included in Big River's proposed broadband coverage area are Washington, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Madison, Perry, Bollinger and Cape Girardeau.

Big River's project would create 1,300 jobs, most of which would be related to construction. Locally, there would be 74 new ongoing staff jobs at Big River and another 200 new jobs in its service area as a result of more businesses having high-speed Internet access, according to the company's application.

"We want to deliver broadband access to our small businesses so our area can compete with bigger cities in a world market," Cantwell said.

He estimates that only 29 percent of households in the project area currently have broadband Internet service.

Big River would use the frequencies it won rights to at a previous Federal Communications Commission auction to send out broadband signals, Cantwell said. Basic home service would be priced at $14.99 per month for students, seniors and low-income households.

Boycom Cablevision Inc. of Poplar Bluff, Mo., would install the more than 700 miles of necessary fiber-optic cable network known as the "middle mile."

In addition to providing jobs, increased access to the Internet will also improve education opportunities for area students, Cantwell said.

A survey of local schools showed that 68 percent of the 40,000 students in Big River's proposed coverage area either have dial-up service or no Internet access at all, Cantwell said.

Big River's first-round application was denied do to a clerical error.

"Not Big River's fault, but since it was a competitive bid, ours along with some others had to be denied and we were asked to resubmit," Cantwell said. He said the federal government's online submission process has been modified to avoid that error in the second round.

A second company, St. Louis Broadband, also has submitted an application to provide service to some of the same Southeast Missouri counties: St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Perry, Bollinger, Madison and Washington. However, St. Louis Broadband was not included in the state's recommendations proposal to federal officials.

The federal stimulus package includes $7.2 billion for broadband expansion nationwide, most of which is to be spent in rural areas.

mmiller@semissourian.com

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