Strategy for Equity in the Awarding of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Broadband Grants for the Lower Rio Grande Valley

I am pleased to provide the following recommendations for the Lower Rio Grande Valley for a regional strategy to gain equitable access to federal broadband funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Congress also directed the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to: (1) use updated broadband map to be developed by the Federal Communications Commission to help guide the process for awarding state broadband grants; (2) efficiently award grants by minimizing deployment of new infrastructure over existing broadband networks; and (3) target persistent poverty regions for broadband investment in grant programs. The Rio Grande Valley (RGV), which includes the counties of Cameron, Willacy, Hidalgo, and Starr, is part of a persistent poverty region entitled to special consideration by the NTIA in terms of broadband investment under the IIJA. The recommendations include the following:

• The LRGVDC should file a request with the to NTIA waive reliance on the FCC's maps due to the counties of the RGV and Texas-Mexico Border region persistent poverty status. They should additionally file for a waiver to NTIA’s “no overbuilding” infrastructure rule in considering the award of broadband grants to the entire Rio Grande Valley region to foster competition and secure the necessary speed and capacity of networks to implement the telehealth objectives for the region and other economic benefits. Without granting these waivers, the NTIA will not be able to fulfill the mandate from Congress to give special consideration to persistent poverty regions, such as the Rio Grande Valley/Texas Border region, in terms of broadband investment.
• The LRGVDC should file a letter with the FCC and NTIA supporting the extension requested by Texas Comptroller Hegar and share local broadband infrastructure access data. It is equally important to share subscriptions, community surveys, and other data on the digital divide directly with the NTIA, which is the federal agency with the legal mandate to establish the rules to administer broadband funds efficiently and equitably under the IIJA, including the targeting of persistent poverty regions for broadband investment.