Texas Public Radio

State office may not challenge broadband maps, risking hundreds of millions of federal funds for Texas

Billions of dollars are up for grabs to expand broadband availability across the country. But the Federal Communication Commission maps that will determine where the money goes are inaccurate, according to the Texas comptroller, because internet service providers inflated their coverage areas. The Texas office charged with challenging and improving those maps at the state level says it can’t.

‘We Do Not Have Coverage Here:’ Texans Take On Federal Broadband Maps

If the total number of people in the US lacking broadband internet access was a state — at around 25 million — it would be roughly the population of Texas. But many argue the maps showing who has access and who doesn’t are wrong.  Residents of Deep East Texas think they are one of those areas where the Federal Communications Commission has it wrong.

'Closing The Digital Divide': Connecting The Least Connected In Texas

The Texas-Mexico border is one of the least connected in the US.  A map from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas shows border counties bathed in bright red, meaning less than 60 percent have home access. It’s a distinction shared by the Mississippi Delta and Appalachia, other parts of the country with pernicious poverty. But that may change.