City Manager Richard Hoon is one of the 1.2 million Missourians without high-speed internet. He doesn't have to go far to hear the complaints.

"I can hear my son in the other room yelling and screaming that he's unable to download something," said Hoon. "My wife and I will yell out to the kids get off one of the machines so we can finish watching this movie. So somebody has to make a sacrifice.”