City issues a Request for Information to expand local broadband network

The City of Joplin is seeking a broadband partner interested in helping the City bring fiber-optic broadband to every home and business in the city.

The intention of this Request for Information (RFI) is to open a dialog with interested Internet Service Providers (ISPs) or other parties interested in helping the City to meet that goal. The City encourages and is open to innovative ideas on how to fund and bring a fiber solution.

In September 2018, the City of Joplin began the process of assessing whether the City should adopt a Smart City approach to advance more resilient economic and community development to benefit its citizens and businesses.

Broadband deployment was identified in Joplin’s Smart City Roadmap as a critical element to achieving its goals. The pandemic slowed progress; however, the City is now moving forward on this project.

The City seeks innovative partners to deploy a citywide open-access fiber network and as such is releasing this RFI to identify ISPs who wish to be a part of Joplin’s future. To access the Request for Information visit: www.joplinmo.org/broadband.

All final submittals are to be emailed to Johan Bullington at jbulling@joplinmo.org no later than 5:00 PM CST on September 2, 2022.