Best internet service in Texas? It might be in tiny Mont Belvieu

MB Link, which has only been in business for about a year, offers 1-gigabit-per-second service to every residence in Mount Belvieu (TX). It’s run by the City of Mont Belvieu, a municipal broadband system in a state where many assume such an operation is forbidden by law.  But the city’s administrators, who say they could not get existing internet providers to expand service or step up their speeds, went to court in 2017 and got a state district judge to rule that broadband internet is a utility on a par with electricity and water service. So-called “home rule” cities in TX have the power to operate utilities, so the judge’s declaration opened the door. Now, with MB Link up and running to rave reviews from residents, other small towns in TX that struggle with subpar online access are expressing interest in Mont Belvieu’s approach.