Bluebird to Deliver Broadband to Rural Missouri

Bluebird Media and Missouri Network Alliance (MNA), have merged to create Bluebird Network, headquartered in Columbia, Missouri, with offices in Kansas City and St. Louis. Bluebird Network will utilize 3,000 miles of existing fiber combined with over 1,000 miles of new fiber to create a robust high-speed telecommunications network serving Missouri, and the rural Midwest. This merger creates a company with strength to support and enhance the rapid build-out of new fiber routes by fall of 2012, while building upon existing broadband services. This merger provides the opportunity for Bluebird Network to bring high-speed telecommunications to areas of Missouri and the Midwest that desperately need these services to develop and retain a competitive work force. Bluebird Network will connect communities so they can be competitive and thrive for decades to come. Bluebird Media is a recipient of $45.1 million grant from the U.S. Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA); this grant is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Bluebird Media's grant is to construct a middle-mile network that will make broadband affordable and accessible to 59 predominantly rural and underserved counties in Northern and Central Missouri. Bluebird Media created a public-private partnership totaling $65 million that includes the Federal government, the State of Missouri, and private investors. Bluebird Media is a vital part of the Governor's broadband initiative, MOBroadbandNow, whose goal is to increase broadband access to 95% of Missouri's households and businesses by 2015. Missouri Network Alliance (MNA) is a leading provider of broadband telecommunications services in rural Missouri. The MNA network currently includes a backbone network with more than 3,000 miles of fiber optic cable routes, and is wholly owned by fifteen Missouri based independent telephone companies. "Bluebird Network has a team in place to plan, engineer, and oversee the construction of a new network on a massive scale. The biggest winners will be the Missouri communities that will see high-speed broadband services delivered in an accelerated time frame. The rural market presents a terrific opportunity for expansion," said Eric Fogle, CEO, Bluebird Network. Bluebird Network will provide next generation bandwidth speeds (up to 100 Gbps) of secure, dependable and redundant bandwidth. The 4,000 miles of new and existing fiber optic routes will be the network backbone linking Broadband and Internet traffic from all over the globe to rural Missouri homes and offices. For more information contact Mike Brigman, Vice-President, Business Development, at (816) 237-2126 or mike.brigman@bluebirdnetwork.com.