Broadband coverage data released
By Sam Waller
Connected Nation Texas recently released updated broadband coverage maps for all 254 counties in the state, including Shackelford, showing internet service coverage based on local surveys filled out last spring.
According to a news release issued by Connected Nation (CN) Texas, 286,908 households across Texas still lack access to federally recognized broadband speeds.
“Our local goal is to improve service for people in Shackelford County,” said Steve Waller, who helped spearhead local participation in the project. “I’m on a system right now that’s got four or five megabytes. They’re trying to get a minimum of (50x5), I believe.”
Basically, the plan is to improve service (availability) for those who don’t have it right now plus provide better service for those who already have some coverage.
Shackelford County judge Robert Skelton said he has a meeting next month with Connected Nation Texas representatives to get an update on the project.
“The last I heard from them, they were in the research and plan-development stage at this point.,” Skelton said “We completed our surveys, and in that Sept. 1 meeting, I will get that plan information or results of the surveys.”
Survey Results
Jennifer Harris, state program director, CN Texas, said in the press release that the updated data comes at a critical time.
“Texas leaders are currently deciding how to spend billions of dollars in economic-relief funding received through the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds which can include connectivity projects,” said Harris.
She added that as much as $65 billion is expected to be set aside nationally for broadband in the upcoming federal infrastructure bill.
“Our leaders need better data so that they are confident that these investments go to help unserved and underserved Texans,” said Harris.
According to the release, broadband coverage maps were last updated in December 2020 before the current funding was announced. At that time, more than 315,000 households were unserved at 25 Mbps download/3 Mbps upload (25x3) which is what the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) classifies as high-speed internet.
In Shackelford County, the number exceeds 1,000 households. The maps show coverage areas for services with covering four broadband speeds. Most of the county has service for 10 Megabytes per second download and one Megabyte per second upload (10x1). Just 27 households in the county are unserved at that rate.
At the 25x3 rate, the number jumps to 1,020 households in the county. At 50 Mbps download/5 Mbps upload (50x5), there are 1,095 unserved households. A similar number is unserved at 100 Mbps download/10 Mbps upload speeds.
The latest update, the project’s fourth, is supposed provide a clearer picture and new insights about access to high-speed internet in Texas.
“We improve upon our broadband coverage mapping data through public feedback, working with providers to refine their data, and continued field validation,” Ashley Hitt, Connected Nation vice president for GeoAnalytics, said. “Since December, the data shows an uptick in the number of households that now have high-speed internet speeds. Each time we update these maps, we learn something new, and we are getting closer to the data truly reflecting what broadband coverage looks like across Texas.”
Among the findings shown by the new data is that overall availability decreases from 96.78 percent at 25x3 speeds to 92.05 percent at 100x10 speeds.
Rural availability drops significantly as speeds increase, especially compared to overall Texas availability. For rural areas, availability decreases from 91.50 percent at 25x3 speeds to 78.9 percent at 100x10 speeds.
CN Texas released the initial maps in January of 2020 and updated maps in late July and again in December. Each new set of maps includes additional input from residents and communities, as well as new, more granular data from internet service providers.
To view the Shackelford County maps, visit https://connectednation.org/texas/county-maps.
