Connected Texas’ New Broadband Availability Figures Reveal Increases Across State
New research released in June by Connected Texas shows that 55.82% of Texas households now have access to fixed broadband at 25 Mbps download/1.5 Mbps upload speeds across the state, a 14 percentage point increase compared to 2011. Another notable finding is the increase of fixed broadband at 50 Mbps download/1.5 Mbps upload speeds, increasing more than 16 percentage points since October 2011. Texas broadband availability at 768 Kbps download/200 Kbps upload speeds is now at 98.67%, excluding mobile wireless and satellite services.
“A 14 percentage point increase in 25 Mbps speeds is evidence of Texas providers investing in capacity and shows the direction we are headed in,” said Don Shirley, Connected Texas executive director. “However, accessibility issues still exist, particularly in rural areas. It is vital that we get Texans the same access to higher speeds so they can leverage all that broadband has to offer; this will be the focus for our future work.”
Among the findings of the new broadband availability research:
- Since October 2011, fixed wireless broadband availability has increased over 23 percentage points and has seen an increase from 73 to 119 in the total number of fixed wireless providers represented on the map.
- Since October 2011, rural broadband availability at 768 Kbps download/200 Kbps upload (excluding mobile wireless and satellite services) has increased over 3 percentage points.
- 55.82% of Texas households now have access to broadband service of at least 25 Mbps download/1.5 Mbps upload; this is an increase of 14 percentage points since October 2011 (excluding mobile wireless and satellite services).
- 51.58% of Texas households now have access to broadband service of at least 50 Mbps download/1.5 Mbps upload; this is an increase of 16 percentage points since October 2011 (excluding mobile wireless and satellite services).
- 30.61% of Texas households now have access to broadband service of at least 100 Mbps download/1.5 Mbps upload; this is an increase of 13 percentage points since October 2011 (excluding mobile wireless and satellite services).
REPLACE_THIS_TEXT_WITH_OPENING_IMAGE_TAG alt="" src="/sites/default/files/connected-nation/Texas/images/tx_may_2014_table_1.jpg" style="width: 451px; height: 281px; margin: 10px; float: left;">This is the ninth comprehensive broadband availability data release from Connected Texas through the State Broadband Initiative (SBI) program.
Last fall, Connected Texas celebrated Bastrop County’s designation as being the first certified Connected community in the state of Texas. However, there are numerous communities across Texas that still lack affordable and attainable access to broadband services. Connected Texas continues to work with communities across the state to support comprehensive community broadband planning efforts and provide technical assistance.
Connected Texas’ website is home to an innovative broadband mapping tool called My ConnectView™ offering unmatched views of Texas’ technology landscape. Residents and businesses are encouraged to use the interactive map to find local providers and help validate the data. To report that broadband is not available in a given area, consumers can fill out a broadband inquiry.
Connected Texas’ research was conducted as part of the SBI grant program for Texas funded by the NTIA. The data were gathered in accordance with the requirements of the NTIA. The process begins by contacting all known providers in the state and providing information about the broadband mapping project. Information on broadband service areas is collected from each provider through voluntary participation and is subject to confidentiality protections. Connected Nation strives to maintain a flexible mapping process to collect data from providers in a variety of formats based on providers’ technical capabilities and resources.
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