Bexar County, Texas, approves $25 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to expand broadband

Bexar County (Texas) commissioners approved allocating $25 million from American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds to expand broadband internet access. Elmendorf Community Library is one of several anchor institutions struggling with the digital divide in Bexar County and San Antonio. The caretaker of the Elmendorf Community Library says people come in daily to access the internet or use the equipment inside. Twenty percent of residents in San Antonio and Bexar County have barriers accessing the internet, which means 20% of people who can’t work from home, who cannot do school at home. Additionally, there is a request for a proposal (RFP)--due October 6th--to see which internet service providers either have plans to build broadband infrastructure in these areas, currently have infrastructure in place, or want to partner with the county and the city to deploy the infrastructure. SA Digital Connects, the primary facilitator of the public-private partnership approach in the area, estimates there are 5,422 households in those areas that are disconnected due to a lack of infrastructure. SA Digital Connects also hopes those funds can be dedicated to educating people on digital literacy.