Skip to content

Top Issues in the 87th: Broadband Access

Top Issues in the 87th: Broadband Access

Over the next several weeks, the Lubbock Chamber will be outlining some of the top issues that will be examined during the 87th Legislature, which officially kicked off earlier this week. We start today with an issue that faces households across the state but is especially vital in rural Texas; access to reliable broadband service.
 
While this issue has been on the radar for quite some time, the need for reliable broadband was highlighted further by the COVID-19 pandemic which shifted our schools and businesses to virtual operations overnight. Even once the pandemic is over, it is likely that remote learning and remote work will remain in some form or fashion. Texas must invest in making sure its rural students, teacher, universities, entrepreneurs, and businesses aren’t left behind.
 
The graphic below, based on 2016 data from the Texas Comptroller's Office, quickly illustrates the urban-rural divide with broadband. A glance at the I-35 corridor shows large swaths of the state’s counties shaded dark blue, signifying 75-100% of households with broadband access. But much of the rest of the state is painted with green, light blue, and brown, signifying far lower rates of access.




Thankfully, Lubbock County has a 94% rate of access according to the Comptroller’s 2016 data, far better than the statewide rate of access of 69%. But there are still many West Texas communities that aren’t as fortunate. These communities do business with Lubbock, are home to students who are the future workforce of Texas, and could benefit from things like telemedicine which is only possible with reliable broadband access.
 
Lubbock’s neighboring counties of Lamb (37%), Hale (33%), and Floyd (68%), all have broadband access rates below the statewide rate. Several of our neighbors across West Texas – home to several Texas Tech University System campuses, and places we do business with – are below the statewide access rate as well.
 
Consider some of the data outlined by Texas Tech University System Chancellor Tedd Mitchell in his recent Dallas Morning News op-ed
  • Of Texas’ 254 counties, 64 rural counties do not have a hospital and 35 of them do not have a primary care physician – the Texans most in need of telemedicine services are the ones who are least likely to have internet access
  • More than half a million Texans still don’t have access to broadband, and roughly 80-90% of them live in rural areas
  • More than 700,000 students in our state’s education system are being educated in rural areas, more than any other state.
 
If remote work, virtual education, and telemedicine are part of our future, that future needs to be for everyone, including rural West Texans. For that reason, the Lubbock Chamber will support efforts to expand access across the state during the legislative session.

Leave a Comment
* Required field

Scroll To Top