Monahans Texas celebrates broadband improvements with help from Connected Nation
Monahans, Texas (April 27, 2023) - Over the past several years, the small town of Monahans in Ward County, Texas, has seen its fair share of problems when it comes to broadband (high-speed internet). Many business owners have struggled to keep their dreams afloat because they lack an adequate internet connection to run their daily operations.
That’s why town leaders recently decided to stand up and work toward change. Connected Nation’s Connected™ Community Engagement Program partnered with Teresa Burnett, Executive Director of the Monahans Chamber of Commerce, and other leadership to deploy an eight-month assessment of the county's broadband needs.
“We have been able to raise money on our own, and with a generous donation from a private investor and an investment from View Capital, we were able to make this project happen,” Burnett said.
Among the findings revealed in the Technology Action Plan, nearly one-third (29.6%) of residents regularly telework, 35% of adults do not have home internet access, and public safety agencies rate their mobile networks as only “fair to poor.”
As soon as town leaders saw the results, they knew where they needed to put in the most work. That’s when Burnett started the Monahans Broadband Project.
Phase 1 of this project is complete, which includes a map of broadband service availability that covers the whole east side of town. The infrastructure is being put in by Hosted America, and residents and businesses are expected to see strong connectivity in that area in the next 45 to 60 days. After phase 1 is complete, Ward County will pursue funding to begin phase 2.
“We could not have done this without the support from Connected Nation,” said Burnett. “Connected Nation, along with a grant from the Stillwater Foundation, has helped our project get started, and we wanted to show our appreciation.”
To thank the Connected Nation team for their help, the Monahans community presented them with a special award for “their generous contribution and assistance in bringing reliable high-speed broadband to the citizens of Monahans and Ward County.”
Connected Nation is honored to receive this award and looks forward to seeing the Monahan community thrive with expanded broadband access.
Link to related articles:
- Ward County’s New Broadband plan: Connecting children, farmers, veterans to high-speed internet
- The cost of being disconnected
- Education, business, national security: Why connecting one rural Texas town affects us all
- First Texas Broadband Hero Award goes to women working to expand internet access in rural parts of the state
- Words of Advice: What the winner of the Texas Broadband Hero Award can teach us about connecting more communities