Region?s broadband Internet service efforts set to expand

A drive to bring broadband service to all parts of NorthwestMissouri is about to gain rather significant momentum.

A kickoff meeting of the Mo-Kan Regional Technology Planning Teamon Tuesday covered state efforts to expand broadband and high-speedInternet access. Officials said the meeting was held to assess thecurrent status of the area's broadband services -- includingobstacles -- and improve its availability to virtually allresidents.

For Lathrop Mayor Jim Crenshaw, the need to bring the technologyis taking on a sense of urgency. An 80-bed assisted living facilitywill be built for Lathrop, Mr. Crenshaw said, but so far without abroadband and fiber optics link that would expedite health careemergency responses.

"That would be a godsend for a little town," he said.

Such a system would assist medical first responders who will needa means to relay and receive patients' conditions. "We need a centerwhere this will work from," he said.

The Mo-Kan Regional Planning Council is offering support toprepare a strategic broadband plan.

"This is a statewide effort," said executive director Tom Bliss."The intent is to determine needs at a regional level."

Missouri BroadbandNow Director Damon Porter called the bid toextend access one of the state's most important endeavors in a longtime. The initiative's goal is to have affordable broadbandavailable to 95 percent of Missourians within five years. Currently,78 percent of the state has some type of broadband service.

"Broadband is just one piece of how we move our communicationsforward," Mr. Porter told a group of about 35 stakeholders. "Theintent of this meeting is to identify where we are. First we've gotto figure out who has and who hasn't."

He said the access will be key to communities' long-termsurvival, economic development and vitality. Participants in theregion's planning team include educators, librarians and localgovernments.

Dick Nielsen, a senior engineer with CBG Communications Inc. inSt. Paul, Minn., said he has worked with communities for eight yearsin expanding Internet access. The company providestelecommunications consulting services.

"Our goal for the state of Missouri is to find out what the needsare," Mr. Nielsen said. A 2007 Missouri Public Service Commissionreport on broadband availability confirmed that rural parts of thestate lagged behind urban areas for high-speed Internet options.Other areas of Missouri are also assembling planning teams to assesstheir region's needs.

Random residential surveys will be distributed in early April to4,000 known addresses in Mo-Kan's area. A business survey will beavailable via a link on Mo-Kan's website at www.mo-kan.org but canalso be completed by e-mail and hard copy. The minimum anticipatedreturn for the residential surveys is 400 responses.

Survey findings, the official formation of the planning team andcompletion of the strategic plan will be announced later. Allstates, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories are involvedin similar broadband initiatives. The Northwest Missouri teams'first phase of work should occur over the next 10 months to a year.

Public computer centers can be created to help increase Internetaccess in rural communities, Mr. Nielsen said.

"These public computer centers can be a real asset for people whocan't afford" their own devices, he added.

Costs should decrease through the added density of users who haveaccess, Mr. Porter said, noting that other broadband projects areongoing throughout the state.

"It's not like this is the beginning of something new," he said."What we're trying to do is make sure all the projects are movingforward."

The planning team is due to meet three or four times over thenext six months. More stakeholders will be sought for inclusion inthe effort.

Ray Scherer can be reached at ray.scherer@newspressnow.com.