Amarillo Targets Low-Income Households for American Rescue Plan-Funded Fixed Wireless

The City of Amarillo (TX) plans to use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to build a fixed wireless network targeting low-income households. “We will lead with that technology; it doesn’t mean we won’t have to change moving down the road [or] where we can’t do line-of-sight,” said Rich Gagnon, the city's managing director and chief information officer. A particular concern in Amarillo was the large number of refugees – 12,000 – who have settled in the city, many of whom do not have broadband available to them. The project aims to make service available to all schools in the Amarillo independent school district and to about 10,000 students. The city already has piloted a fixed wireless network that uses an access point mounted on top of a seven-story police building. Coverage is at least three miles and speeds exceed 100 Mbps symmetrically, Gagnon said. The technology is operating in the unlicensed 5 GHz band but can also operate in the 6 GHz band. The city will own the network but plans to enlist one or more private companies to operate the network and act as the service provider. Plans include offering service at no charge initially for households with students who qualify for the school lunch program. The free service is made possible by the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, which will transition into the Affordable Connectivity Program.