Texas simply launched a brand new map that reveals the provision of web entry throughout the state.
Utilizing information collected from web service suppliers, the brand new Texas Broadband Improvement Map reveals what neighborhoods have entry to high-speed web and the place web is missing.
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar stated the map will assist decide what areas want funding for broadband enlargement.
In line with Texas Home Invoice 5 handed in the course of the 87th legislative session, areas are eligible for funding “if lower than 80% of the places have entry to web at pace of 25 megabits per second downstream (mbps) and three mbps upstream.”
That matches the Federal Communications Fee’s present definition of high-speed web at 25 mbps, however Hegar stated that definiton is dated.
“One of many issues we realized speaking to stakeholders across the state final 12 months was that to be actually aggressive, communities want web that’s quicker than the FCC’s definition of high-speed broadband,” he stated. “For that motive, we designed the map to point out protection at varied speeds.”
Web reliability can be concern many Texans have voiced, Glenn stated, so by mapping what sort of expertise is accessible in several areas, it could actually assist lawmakers determine the place to prioritize funding.
The map is interactive and permits a consumer to enter an handle to seek out the web pace obtainable in that space. Neighborhoods are grouped into three classes: “served” which means web speeds are larger than or equal to 100 mbps, “underserved” means web speeds are between 25 and 100 mbps, and “unserved” which means web speeds are lower than 25 mbps.