FORT WORTH, Texas — During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government made broadband expansion to rural communities a priority. But four years later, little has been done to bring dependable, high-speed internet to these underserved areas. So what happened?

In November 2021, President Biden signed into law the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which earmarked $1.2 trillion to bolster the nation’s infrastructure. Money was set aside to do things like improve roads and bridges and public transportation and upgrade and modernize utility infrastructures.

As part of it, states were allocated funds to expand broadband access to places where high-speed internet service wasn’t available. This was meant to bridge the so-called digital divide, which puts rural residents at a disadvantage because of a lack of fast, reliable internet.

Under the infrastructure act, which established the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program, Texas was to receive $3.3 billion from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, in part to provide broadband service to rural areas that aren’t serviced by companies like AT&T and Verizon.

The Texas Broadband Development Office, which was created by the state Legislature in 2021, would administer the federal funds and approve contracts for the work to build out the state’s internet infrastructure.

In 2023, the federal government approved the state’s proposal for how it would use the federal funds, but Texas never received the money, and no projects broke ground.

Projects were further delayed after President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, and due to policy changes enacted by the Trump Administration in June, states were required to resubmit proposals for the money.

On Oct. 16, the Broadband Development Office announced it had an updated proposal ready to submit to the federal government. The new federal allocation for Texas will be $1.3 billion, less than half of what was previously allocated.

The state will accept public comments on the latest proposal until 2 p.m. on Oct. 22.

If and when that proposal is approved, the state can start issuing contracts for broadband expansion work. Contracted service providers will have four years from the date they receive federal funds to complete the work, meaning it could be 2030 or later before some rural areas start receiving high-speed internet service.

How big is Texas’ broadband expansion project?

More than 4,000 applicants submitted proposals to perform broadband expansion work in Texas. Of those, 22 were awarded the federal funds to bring broadband service to nearly 243,000 areas of the state. Fiber-optic cable will supply broadband to the majority of those areas (123,349); the remainder will receive wireless- and satellite-based service.

According to the state’s 2023 Five-Year Action Plan, 2.8 million households in Texas lacked access to high-speed broadband. High-speed broadband is broadly defined as broadband service with a download speed of at least 100 megabits per second and an upload speed of 20 Mbps.

The vast majority of Tarrant County has access to high-speed broadband, but there’s spotty coverage in parts of Parker and Johnson counties, and there are quite a few unserved areas in Palo Pinto and Erath counties to the west of Fort Worth.

The Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Map shows the current coverage areas.

Why is broadband such a big deal?

The state broadband office has repeatedly said lack of broadband access disproportionately affects rural communities. That hinders people’s access to news, information and entertainment, but it has more serious consequences as well.

For one, students increasingly depend on the internet to complete schoolwork, and those in rural areas who don’t have a stable connection can fall behind in their studies and fall behind when it comes to digital literacy.

There are concerns about access to health care, too. The Texas Comptroller’s office, which operates the broadband office, cited a State Office of Rural Health report that said 64 Texas counties don’t have a hospital, and another 25 have no primary-care physician. For residents in these health care deserts, their only option in some cases may be internet-based telemedicine.

Finally, there’s the impact to farmers. As the Comptroller’s Office points out, today’s agriculture producers lean heavily on technology. Not having reliable high-speed internet could adversely affect their operations and their bottom lines.

What options do rural internet customers currently have?

The state’s broadband office five-year action plan said more than 900,000 Texans only have access to satellite broadband.

Satellite providers like Viasat, Hughesnet and Starlink offer broadband internet service to rural customers, but it’s often expensive and service can be unreliable. Customers and industry experts, like those with Consumer Reports, say that Viasat and Hughesnet, in particular, suffer from reliability issues.

That’s because those providers rely on signals from satellites orbiting more than 20,000 miles above the Earth. Starlink, on the other hand, uses low Earth orbit satellites, which are only about 340 miles away.

According to the 2024 Broadband Pricing Index, published by USTelecom, U.S. consumers pay an average of $72.58 a month for high-speed broadband. The standard Starlink residential plan is $120 a month, while Hughesnet and Viasat offer plans with prices comparable to the nationwide average. There are, however, equipment costs associated with satellite broadband, which can run as much as a few hundred dollars.

What’s the holding up broadband expansion?

The slow pace of bureaucratic oversight seems to have delayed the initial $3 billion Texas was promised. Since then, the Trump Administration has created additional hurdles.

In May, Trump called the Digital Equity Act, which was part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, “racist,” referring to the parts of the bill that mentioned expanding broadband access to “individuals who are members of a racial or ethnic minority group.” The day after making that declaration on social media, the president’s administration cut funding for broadband expansion, further undermining states’ efforts to bring broadband to rural areas.

“It is absolutely insane that resources meant to help red and blue communities — everyone from local school districts and libraries to workforce training programs and Tribes — close the digital divide will be illegally blocked because the president doesn’t like the word ‘equity,’” Sen. Pat Murray of Washington was quoted as saying in a May CNET article.

A spokesperson with the Texas Comptroller’s office said the state expects to receive the $1.3 billion that was most recently allocated, and the state’s broadband development office plans to move forward with its broadband projects.

Will affordable, dependable high-speed internet finally come to rural Texas? Time will tell.

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