MEMPHIS, MO --
Steps are being taken to bring Northeast Missouri up to speed on the internet.
    
Governor Nixon has started an initiative called MOBroadbandNow to give all Missourians access to high speed internet service.
  
The Northeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission out of Memphis is surveying businesses and other sectors in the area to figure out their broadband needs. Those sectors include everything from education to healthcare that would highly benefit from speedy internet service.

“Health records, emergency 911 people need access, need real fast internet to find things out like that, and of course residents, everyone would like do download their email and things too and facebook that everybody's doing now too, and it just would bring us up to par with the rest of the country,” said Melody Whitacre, Northeast Missouri Planning Commission.
    
Missouri was given more than $260 million in stimulus funds to complete this project.
    
When all the surveying is completed, regional planning commissions around the state will make a plan for the governor to approve.
   
If all goes well, broadband services will be in place by 2014, upgrading Missouri’s broadband usage from 80 percent to about 95 percent.