Digital Opportunity Put on Hold in Texas

 You’re reading the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society’s Weekly Digest, a recap of the biggest (or most overlooked) broadband stories of the week. The digest is delivered via e-mail each Friday.

Round-Up for the Week of March 31-April 4, 2025

The Texas Broadband Development Office (BDO), under the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, developed the Texas Digital Opportunity Plan to complement broadband infrastructure programs already underway in the state, including the Bringing Online Opportunities to Texas (BOOT) program and the state’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.

Texas' Vision for Digital Opportunity:

Texas has not yet received its federal State Digital Equity Capacity funding and—on March 4, 2025—BDO paused all grants and contracts to implement the Texas Digital Opportunity Plan. This decision was made due to “ongoing federal government realignment to meet the priorities of the new administration.” BDO wants to "ensure all efforts adhere to and are consistent with program guidelines before funds are made available.”

Here, we take a look at the Texas Digital Opportunity Plan, and how BDO aimed to close the digital divide using Digital Equity Capacity Grant funding.

Texas's Digital Opportunity Strategies

The BDO will advance the following four primary strategies to realize its vision of digital opportunity.

Strategy 1: Partner With and Fund Statewide Organizations

The BDO will work with a range of state agencies and other statewide partners already actively involved in advancing digital opportunity across the state, ensuring that work is supportive of realizing the goals of this plan. The BDO will partner and collaboratively plan with agencies such as Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) and Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC), with the goal of enhancing and expanding those agencies’ programs through funding available from the state’s forthcoming State Capacity Grant Program administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

Activities

1.1: Allocate a portion of the state’s capacity grant program to expand existing state programs as detailed in this chapter.

1.2: Provide funding to partners to implement recommended or planned digital opportunity programs.

1.3: Provide funding to partners to develop programs or activities.

Strategy 2: Fund Local Partners 

Broadband adoption, digital literacy, device access and many other aspects of digital opportunity require locally based, culturally appropriate efforts. Leadership should come from the same communities that these efforts aim to serve; trust, safety and confidence are essential components of digital opportunity. The BDO will allocate a portion of its Capacity Grant to create a digital opportunity grant program to fund local initiatives addressing the gaps in digital opportunity for covered populations and regions most impacted by the digital divide.

Activities

2.1: Stand up a state-led local digital opportunity fund to directly fund organizations offering digital opportunity resources to covered populations and geographies with the highest needs.

2.2: Expand the state-led local digital opportunity fund criteria to build capacity and staffing of organizations offering services to geographies and covered populations after funding those with the highest needs.

2.3: Consider distributing funding to local organizations and governmental entities that can administer digital opportunity funds.

Strategy 3: Promote Internet Adoption

The BDO recognizes that building the physical infrastructure to connect unserved and underserved Texans to broadband is only one component of expanding broadband adoption. Therefore, the BDO will support activities to encourage and support Texans to sign up for and use broadband service as it is made available across the state – benefiting Texans, multiple statewide priorities and the telecom industry through an expanded customer base.

Activities

3.1: Continue programs utilizing BEAD, BOOT and other infrastructure funding.

3.2: Develop partnerships to promote internet enrollment.

3.3: Establish a grant readiness training program.

3.4: Develop state-granted programs to promote internet enrollment.

Strategy 4: Maintain a Living Digital Opportunity Plan

The BDO envisions this plan as a living document, to be updated through continued research. The BDO has gathered extensive baseline data, established relationships with stakeholders and residents and gained a firm understanding of the current needs and barriers of Texans statewide—regionally and among covered populations. The BDO aims to build on this foundation and make this plan a sustainable resource to promote digital opportunity statewide by measuring progress while continuing to collect critical data to enable the state and its local partners to advance and iterate impactful programs.

Activities

4.1: Conduct ongoing engagement and collaboration with stakeholders.

4.2 Maintain a statewide asset inventory; conduct ongoing data measurement with grantees and additional research to improve upon baseline data.

4.3: Evaluate progress against KPIs; adjust approach as needed.

4.4: Conduct public and organizational surveys to measure progress.

Alignment with State Priorities

The Texas BDO emphasizes the importance of digital opportunity and highlights the resources needed to pursue the activities included in its plan. In the Digital Opportunity Plan, the office outlined how digital opportunity program implementation could advance state policy priorities and efforts in six outcome areas.

Economic and Workforce Development

Economic and workforce development is one area in which the intersection between digital opportunity and broadband infrastructure is particularly clear.

Broadband infrastructure investment will impact job needs across industries, including those involved in the physical buildout of broadband infrastructure, operations and maintenance of that infrastructure, and those industries involved in the facilitation of broadband access and digital inclusion. Over 91 percent of Texas job postings across all industries include a need for digital skills. This is especially important for advancement: as digital skills requirements increase, so do wages.

To better understand how broadband expansion will drive current and future workforce needs in Texas, the BDO supported a range of planning activities, including convening the Economic and Workforce Development Task Force, which included representatives from the TWC, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Goodwill, Texas Farm Bureau, and other organizations. Task force discussions revealed broadband reliability, broadband affordability, and access to digital skills training as primary concerns for the development of Texas’ workforce. Digital skills are central to the long-term economic development and competitiveness of Texas, as employers increasingly seek digitally competent talent. This phenomenon crosses sectors: from small businesses to the agricultural industry, stakeholders confirmed the need for further digital skills resources to remain competitive and grow or retain their workforce, highlighting specific needs in rural regions of Texas.

Given the essential nature of digital skills for employment across industries, the BDO will support Texas’ workforce development ecosystem by:

1. Collaborating across state government, leveraging existing workforce initiatives, sectoral-based partnerships, and Texas’ history of working with industry to meet talent needs;
2. Directly supporting industry-specific digital training programs for covered populations; and
3. Building partnerships to align and support the digital skills workforce development ecosystem.

Education Access and Advancement

Broadband access and adoption ensure that students can participate fully in virtual learning environments, find and apply for jobs, and gain new career skills.

The BDO convened the Education Task Force to discuss how internet availability, device availability, and digital skills impact Texas students, educators and school communities. These discussions revealed that while many educational institutions provide access to digital devices to students at little to no cost, they often struggle to bear the high expense of replacing outdated devices. Task force members suggested that educational device deployments be paired with technical support, helping students and families adopt basic device skills, cybersecurity awareness, and the necessary software for virtual learning. The Education Task Force also discussed the need for digital navigators in schools, barriers to enrollment among adult students in the Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) [which ended in 2024], internet security concerns on campus, and the lack of capacity in smaller schools to apply to grants and provide ongoing support.

Health Improvement

The health and well-being of Texans is an important state priority that is closely linked to the ability to access broadband and digital opportunity.

Telemedicine is key to delivering health care services to aging individuals, individuals with disabilities, rural residents, and other Texans who may have difficulty accessing in-person health care. Research conducted by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in partnership with BDO reveals that 64 of Texas’s 254 counties do not have a hospital and 25 counties do not have a primary care physician. Telemedicine can facilitate online disease management services, electronic health records, home monitoring, and other vital health care services.

To discuss the intersection of digital opportunity and the health and well-being of all Texans, the BDO convened the Health Task Force. Task force discussions immediately identified the lack of affordable, reliable internet and digital skills as common barriers to accessing telehealth services in Texas. While community centers and health care centers provide some space and devices needed for telehealth, technical support helping patients set up devices and/or troubleshoot remains an unresolved gap. Additionally, awareness of the availability and importance of telemedicine options and digital training for how to access them will be a critical component for success.

While Texans––especially those belonging to covered populations––face significant gaps and barriers when accessing telehealth services, the Health Task Force identified several existing assets and successful models for leveraging technology to improve health outcomes. One example is the Pottsboro Library. Located in rural Grayson County, Pottsboro Library’s private “telehub,” equipped with blood pressure cuffs and other medical equipment, enables patients to access health care appointments remotely. To facilitate telehealth and other digital opportunity initiatives, Pottsboro Library employs digital navigators, partially funded through the support of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accessibility of Essential Services

Texans need internet access, devices and skills to complete essential daily tasks and to ensure their safety, security and quality of life.

The BDO convened the Essential Services Task Force to access the perspectives of public safety and poverty relief organizations, including state and municipal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and emergency management entities. The Task Force found that Texans need strong, reliable internet, access to appropriate devices, digital literacy, and technical assistance. Access to the internet and devices that Texans know how to use are critical for residents to access essential services such as emergency announcements and 9-1-1, in addition to other public resources aimed at low-income individuals, seniors, veterans, and incarcerated individuals.

The Texas Homeland Security Strategic Plan, published by the Texas Governor’s Office, includes an objective and several priority actions that relate to the accessibility of essential services and Digital Opportunity as a whole. The Homeland Security Strategic Plan's Goal 2 Objective 6 is to enhance statewide cybersecurity efforts to protect information assets. This includes, among other activities:

• Continuing to expand and strengthen the Texas Information Sharing and Analysis Organization as a trusted hub for the collection and sharing of cybersecurity risk information among state, local, higher education and private sector stakeholders;
• Maintaining the Texas Cybersecurity Framework to mitigate risks and improve the resiliency of state information systems and encourage adoption of the Framework's standards by local jurisdictions; and
• Enhancing collaboration with higher education institutions to build the future cyber workforce for Texas.

Civic and Social Engagement

The BDO assembled the Civic and Social Engagement Task Force, including representatives from libraries, state agencies, government associations, CBOs, faith-based organizations, local governments, Council of Government associations (COGs), and other entities concerned with the overall well-being and quality of life of all Texans.

Task force discussions revealed that internet affordability is a significant barrier for low-income households, aging individuals, and rural residents in Texas. Additionally, the task force highlighted the need for digital skills training programs that consider the specific needs of people with disabilities or language barriers. Overall, the task force expressed a desire for more support and facilitation from local governments as well as funding for CAIs––schools and libraries in rural areas, in particular––to expand broadband access across the state.

Business and Telecommunications Growth

The Business and Telecom Task Force engages representatives from satellite operators, national carriers, and local and rural ISPs. To gather additional input, the BDO conducted a Texas Internet Service Provider Survey (ISP Survey) between March and June 2023. The ISP Survey received responses from 79 unique broadband providers. Results from the ISP Survey showed that while 55 percent of participating ISPs in Texas serve all covered populations, the majority of ISPs do not provide programs promoting access to digital devices, digital skills training, or digital opportunity funding such as subsidies to improve broadband affordability.

Discussion in the Business and Telecom Task Force meetings revealed that ISPs face barriers to participating in and/or achieving results in broadband expansion and adoption initiatives, including the high cost of installing fiber in rural areas and lack of internal organizational capacity. Nonetheless, 85 percent of ISP Survey respondents are "definitely" or "probably" interested in receiving BEAD grants to expand their coverage footprint, showing promise in leveraging ISPs to start closing the digital divide.

A Future With Digital Opportunities for all Texans

While Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program funds may be on hold in Texas, efforts to connect the un- and underserved in the state continue. Texas residents can find resources on the state's digital divide via BDO's Texas Digital Opportunity Hub, which is home to the state's interactive Resource Finder, mapping efforts to visualize the digital divide, and updates on BDO's digital opportunity efforts. For now, there's much to be learned from the work of the Texas community anchor institutions that work to close the digital divide every day like the Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Library team in Mercedes, Texas.

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Upcoming Events

Apr 8––Markup (House Commerce Committee)

Apr 9––Nomination Hearing for Olivia Trusty to be a Member of the Federal Communications Commission (Senate Commerce Committee)

Apr 9––Executive Session: Nomination of Arielle Roth to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (Senate Commerce Committee)

Apr 9––SHLB Coalition Reception (Schools Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition)

Apr 10––The DOJ v. Google Saga Continues: What’s at Stake in the Search Remedies Trial? (Information Technology & Innovation Foundation)

Apr 10––2025 American Connectivity Forum (USTelecom)

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all people in the U.S. have access to competitive, High-Performance Broadband regardless of where they live or who they are. We believe communication policy - rooted in the values of access, equity, and diversity - has the power to deliver new opportunities and strengthen communities.

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