By: Ananya Rajanala 
 
As of June 2022, 2.8 million Texas Households and 7 million people lack broadband access. 23% of Texans, which is 6 million people, are experiencing the digital divide (the gap between those with broadband access and those without). This problem largely affects rural communities, communities of color, and low-income families.  
 
The Texas Technology for All petition, which aims to close the gap and provide high speed internet access and reliable devices for low-income Texans, is currently at around 2,300 signatures (200 signatures away from our end goal). Although our petition’s target has almost been met, the signatures are increasing at an evidently slow pace.  
 
Alongside the petition, the 87th Texas Legislature created the Broadband Development Office (BDO) to help close this gap. The BDO established the Texas Broadband Plan, a statewide project for expanding high-speed internet access.  
 
In March 2022, the BDO launched the Texas Broadband Listening Tour. They visited 12 Texas communities where they could hear directly from Texans about their experiences with broadband. They also issued a public broadband survey available to all Texans online, in print, and via telephone. More than 16,000 Texans used the survey to share their broadband experiences. 
 
After creating the BDO, the Legislature granted $5 million to the Comptroller, Glenn Hegar, to administer this program. The American Rescue Plan Act, which works to contain Covid-19 and help the American economy, has allocated $500.5 million to Texas for broadband expansion. And, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which is a historic investment that works to modernize things like broadband access, will set aside at least $100 million to help this cause. 
 
Jennifer Harris, the vice chair of the Governor’s Broadband Development Council, shared how state officials have developed a plan and are spending money to try to fix this problem, results will not be seen until 2023. 
 
By signing the Texas Technology for All petition, you are supporting reliable and high-speed internet access for all Texans for economic growth, the development of technology skills, and access to education. 
 
 
 
Sources: 
https://comptroller.texas.gov/programs/broadband/  
https://comptroller.texas.gov/programs/broadband/plan.php 
https://www.govtech.com/network/texas-broadband-plan-could-connect-2-8m-unserved-households 
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/04/15/texas-broadband-internet/