Announced this morning, Downtown STL Inc, the City of St. Louis, St. Louis Development Corporation and St. Louis Economic Development Partnership have released a gigabit fiber request for information (RFI) to upgrade and expand the regional broadband infrastructure and improve access to an affordable high-speed internet with speeds more than 1,000 Mbps. The expansion will allow for speeds 20 times faster than current averages for residents and businesses across St. Louis.

“Becoming a gigabit community will better help us continue supporting innovation and economic development from the heart of our region,” said City of St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay in statement earlier today.

As one of the top destinations for tech innovators and startups, a modern fiber-optic network and access to affordable, ultra-fast broadband internet is a key ingredient for continuing the growth of St. Louis’ ecosystem. 

“We’ve had immense growth in St. Louis’s innovation clusters in Downtown, Cortex, along with Cherokee, and Mid-town Alley,” said Missy Kelley, president of Downtown STL in a statement today. “The RFI will allow us to identify potential business models and partnerships to deliver gigabit internet services across all neighborhoods and communities of St. Louis.”

The RFI (a copy is available on Downtown STL’s website) highlights the market opportunity of the fiber upgrade and invites interested vendors to submit ideas for delivering fast, widely offered, easily accessible, affordable and highly reliable internet.

This process is one of many steps that Downtown STL, Inc., the City of St. Louis, St. Louis Development Corporation and St. Louis Economic Development Partnership are taking to develop a digital network infrastructure addressing the current and future needs of established businesses, startups, and residents of St. Louis.