, that allocates $1.5 billion to expand internet availability across the state through the new Broadband Infrastructure Fund. If approved by voters in November, that money will be added to an undetermined amount of federal dollars the state will receive. That allocation is slated to be announced by June 30.
The amount approved by the Texas Legislature is substantially lower than the $5 billion Ashby initially proposed at the start of the session. Ashby proposed using money from the state’s Economic Stabilization Fund, known as the rainy day fund. However, during negotiations among lawmakers, the Legislature decided to use the state’s general operating fund, which put a limit on how much money could be used for broadband.
“This is a 10-year-window project, in my opinion, so this will be an ongoing process to get the state connected,” Hegar told the Tribune. “It’s really impossible to get all of this done, with all the internet providers we will be working with, to get it accomplished in a two-year window for the next biennium.”this session that would force the Broadband Development Office to prioritize infrastructure projects that use fiber technology.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to increase access to broadband,” Garbee said. “We hope the Broadband Development Office will use its data and mapping tools to develop a grant process that provides those resources to areas of the state that are least likely to receive broadband without the extra support.”
Crowe said the map makes it clear: The region known as the Texas Triangle, which includes Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio and Houston, is mostly connected. Most of the areas needing service exist outside of the triangle. Those additional locations are an improvement, Texans say, but the federal and state maps still face scrutiny. Speed data comes directly from internet service providers, and some question the accuracy of that data.