Total Highspeed awarded $50M from federal government

Nixa-based Total Highspeed LLC is the largest recipient in a new round of government funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Total Highspeed is set to receive nearly $50 million from the USDA, half of which is a grant and half is a loan through the USDA pilot program called ReConnect, according to a news release yesterday from Sen. Roy Blunt's office. The USDA released $91.5 million statewide to expand rural broadband through the initiative.

“The pandemic has brought even more attention to how critical connectivity is to education, health care and jobs,” Blunt said in the release. “Ending the digital divide will level the playing field for people in rural areas who haven’t had the same opportunities to compete and succeed."

Through its $48.8 million in funding, Total Highspeed will install a fiber-to-the-premises network that would connect 417 businesses, five public schools, 720 farms and more than 26,000 people to high-speed broadband internet in Christian, Greene, Lawrence, Stone and Webster counties, officials said.

The remainder of the funding is going to Marshall Municipal Utilities, Steelville Telephone Exchange, dba STE Communications, and the Stoutland Telephone Co., dba Missouricom, according to the release.

The latest funding comes after $60.9 million in ReConnect grants and loans were made in January. Total Highspeed was selected for $40.2 million in the funding round, according to past reporting.