Texas Broadband Development Office to submit BEAD proposal for $1.3 billion in grants

AUSTIN (KAMR/KCIT) — Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock announced that the Texas Broadband Development Office will submit its final proposal for an investment of $1.3 billion in federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program funds.

The Texas BDO is set to submit its final proposal to the federal government, investing approximately $1.3 billion in federal BEAD program funds.

Once approved and implemented, officials said the proposal would make it possible for almost every Texas location on the Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Map to connect to high-speed internet.

The proposal outlines how Texas will “close the state’s remaining broadband gaps by funding projects to connect almost 243,000 unserved and underserved homes, businesses and community anchor institutions across Texas.”

“Reliable, high-speed internet access is essential infrastructure for a strong economy,” said Hancock. “This proposal will help ensure every Texas community can compete and thrive by empowering job creators, strengthening small businesses and giving families access to new employment and education opportunities. Texas is investing these federal dollars wisely and keeping our focus on results.”

Officials said that under the plan, about 123,000 unserved and underserved locations would be connected by end-to-end fiber technology, roughly 66,000 via low-earth orbit satellite and about 54,000 locations through fixed wireless.

The BDO is accepting public comment on the final proposal until Oct. 22 before submitting.