Texas

Henderson County (TX) Commissioners approved an agreement with Brightspeed LLC to enhance broadband services within the county. The project will combine $2.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds with other state money to connect all of Henderson County to high-speed broadband internet when the projects are completed. Ultimately, the projects are expected to total $8 million and combine federal and state money. Brightspeed will deliver 114.7 miles of fiber and connect nearly 5,000 locations within Henderson County.

Regional operator Vexus Fiber is expanding its network across Louisiana, New Mexico, and its home state of Texas, and it’s planning to roll out multi-gig service by the start of 2024. CEO Jim Gleason said Vexus is constructing fiber on a pace of around 12,000 new homes passed per month, spanning roughly a dozen markets in Texas, three in Louisiana, and three in New Mexico.

Texas voters approved Proposition Eight, which will create a broadband infrastructure fund in the state. About 80 percent of voters favored passage of the state constitutional amendment. With the passage of this resolution, $1.5 billion will be allocated to expand internet availability in Texas, where some 7 million people currently lack access. These dollars will help pay to develop and finance broadband and telecommunications services as well as 911 services. The fund will also provide matching funds with federal money from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program.

More reliable and higher quality internet could be coming to Fort Worth’s (TX) underserved areas. The Fort Worth City Council approved a $7.5 million, 34-year contract with Dallas-based Sprocket Networks for broadband infrastructure. The contract authorizes the installation of an approximately 300-mile network to connect residents and businesses with internet in locations designated as underserved. Around 17 percent of residents in Fort Worth don’t have access to high-speed internet and 8 percent have no internet access at all.

What once was a luxury is now a necessity for many in today's world, and a lot of East Texans are left out when it comes to having reliable internet access. It powers businesses, connects people around the world and creates avenues for education and health care. However, broadband internet is not equal. Proposition 8 on Texas' November 7 ballot aims at funding a better future for internet access. This proposition is the constitutional amendment creating the broadband infrastructure fund to expand high-speed broadband access and assist in the financing of connectivity projects.

President Joe Biden announced over $5 billion in new investments from his Investing in America agenda—including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act—to advance rural prosperity, economic development, competition, and sustainability. $274 Million to Expand Critical Rural High-Speed Internet Infrastructure: the Department of Agriculture announced nearly $274 million across 16 grant and loan awards to expand access to high-speed internet for people living and working across eight states.

The Federal Communications Commission committed $37.7 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program, which provides digital tools and services to support students in communities across the country. This funding commitment supports applications from the third application window, benefitting approximately 100,000 students nationwide, including students in Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington.

One year has passed since Brightspeed became the fifth largest incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) in the US, and it’s made some notable progress in its $2 billion multi-year fiber deployment. Most of Brightspeed’s footprint is currently served with copper, but the operator is undertaking fiber builds in 17 states and officially launched fiber service on March 1, 2023.

The Federal Communications Commission committed $37.7 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program, which provides digital tools and services to support students in communities across the country. This funding commitment supports applications from the third application window, benefitting approximately 100,000 students nationwide, including students in Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington. This funding commitment supports approximately 220 schools and school districts, 2 library systems, and 4 consortia.