‘We Do Not Have Coverage Here:’ Texans Take On Federal Broadband Maps

If the total number of people in the US lacking broadband internet access was a state — at around 25 million — it would be roughly the population of Texas. But many argue the maps showing who has access and who doesn’t are wrong.  Residents of Deep East Texas think they are one of those areas where the Federal Communications Commission has it wrong. “We’re trying to not just say ‘your maps are wrong.’ We’re trying to demonstrate and prove we do not have coverage here,” said Lonnie Hunt, executive director of the Deep East Texas Council of Governments, or DETCOG. DETCOG encompasses 12 rural TX counties and about 380,000 people. They have set aside $500,000 to research coverage and survey residents to figure out what access actually looks like and a plan on how to get it in their communities.