Coils of fiber-optic cable ready to be installed underground are seen in March in Carthage.

Editor’s note: This story is part of a series exploring high-speed internet expansion efforts in East Texas leading into 2024.

Jeff Johnson lives 15 miles outside of Gilmer in rural Upshur County. He’s been paying about $110 per month for satellite internet service, “and it ain’t worth a crap,” he said.

His experience isn’t unique. Northeast Texas has the state’s slowest internet speeds, least reliable internet connections and the highest average monthly costs for service, according to a survey released by the Texas Broadband Development Office.

And as the office considers ways to expand people’s access to broadband internet, which is high-speed internet, they’re hoping to hear from people like Johnson.

Broadband office leaders have unveiled a draft of the Texas Digital Opportunity Plan, a metaphorical roadmap for making high-speed internet more widely accessible in the state. They’re seeking public comment on the plan through Jan. 5.

The plan details how the state could allocate funding to build broadband infrastructure in areas where it’s needed. It also discusses ways public institutions could help people connect to healthcare, jobs and more by learning how to use the internet.

East Texans are among the groups of people who face the most hurdles when trying to connect to the internet, according to the results of the broadband office’s survey.

“The Texas Digital Opportunity Plan will allow more Texans to access technology and thrive,” Greg Conte, the office’s director, said in a statement. “We know that starts with improving broadband (or high-speed internet) adoption, device access and digital skills training, but we want to hear more from community members most in need.”

Survey results

Almost 7 million Texans lack access to broadband internet, according to broadband development officials.

High-speed internet access isn’t available in some rural parts of Northeast Texas, and where it is, it can be costly.

In its statewide survey, the broadband office found 60 percent of respondents in the region pay more than $100 per month for internet service, and 67 percent said the internet speeds and reliability they have don’t meet their needs.

People in the region pay an average of around $120 per month for internet service, the highest average monthly cost in the state.

About 7 percent of respondents in Northeast Texas said they can’t connect to internet at their homes.

Northeast Texas has the state’s highest percentages of residents who are aging, incarcerated disabled or live in rural areas, according to the survey.

The broadband office conducted the survey earlier this year to formulate its broadband expansion plan. People took the survey online and by filling out paper forms during public meetings across the state.

The office received more than 13,000 responses, and roughly 11,000 were valid. About 5 percent of the responses were from Northeast Texas.

As education, health care, employment and government services increasingly go online, people who don’t have internet access, can’t afford it or don’t know how to use it could be left behind, said Evan Dolive, executive director of the Greater Longview United Way, a local philanthropic organization.

“Internet 10, 20 years ago was considered a luxury, and now it’s a necessity,” said Dolive, who collaborated with the broadband office during its public outreach campaign. “Having internet access is not just for streaming Netflix and Disney Plus, right? It’s accessing government websites, state and federal services, paying bills. It’s education for children.”

Broadband expansion takes off

Broadband expansion efforts nationwide have surged since the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law set aside billions of dollars for that work, with Texas receiving $3.3 billion. In November, Texas voters passed Proposition 8, allocating $1.5 billion in state funds for broadband expansion.

Across the state, internet service providers, county governments and economic development organizations have begun making plans to build new fiber-optic internet networks.

Among them is the East Texas Council of Governments, which has planned 65 broadband expansion projects in the region along with internet service providers and local government officials. The council and its partners will begin applying for project funding in 2024.

Most of the projects will create new fiber-optic internet networks, which use cables and other physical infrastructure to provide high-speed internet to homes and businesses.

That infrastructure often is too costly to build in remote areas. Miles and miles of infrastructure may be needed to reach a small number of customers, economic development officials and internet service providers say.

For some rural residents, satellite internet could be the only source available to them. Some say it’s not dependable.

‘Hit or miss’

In the small Gregg County community of Lakeport, Theresa Jackson works from home for the state’s Medicaid Buy-In program. She said she has limited options for internet service.

She’s used several internet providers’ services since moving there in 2001. She now uses internet provider Zito Media, which she said provides “hit or miss” service. She pays $83.35 per month.

When she loses internet signal, she has to take off work until service is restored, or she has to drive to her office, she said.

“I love the location that I live in,” Jackson said. “It’s just that internet — that’s the only gripe I have about my area.”

Jackson said she’s considering getting internet service from HomeFi, a wireless internet provider that specializes in serving rural areas.

Near the Diana community in Upshur County, Tasha Root and her husband live in what is considered a “blackout area,” she said. Cellular data and internet signals are weak there, and fiber-optic internet isn’t available.

The couple previously used dial-up, wireless and satellite internet providers. Some satellite internet providers such as Viasat and Hughesnet provided limited amounts of high-speed internet data, and once customers used it up, their internet speeds slowed down, Root said.

“And what it slows down to is worthless,” she added.

The retired couple now uses Starlink, a form of satellite internet pioneered by entrepreneur Elon Musk. Root pays $120 per month for the service, which she said is mostly reliable and has high speeds. The Starlink equipment she had to buy for her home cost $600, and she had to wait months to get it set up.

“That’s the best option that I have found,” she said. “Think about all the people — the young families — that need internet for their children or are working from home. That can be quite expensive, even at $120 per month for those people. We’re very lucky that we can afford it. There’s an awful lot of people in our area that can’t.”

Even in the middle of Diana, internet service is hard to find, said resident Ricky Seward.

“We can’t get any broadband or anything in this area,” he said. “We don’t even have a phone line. They used to have it a while back, but I guess the company that was down here left.”

Seward said he’s spoken with various internet providers about making their services available where he lives, but “nobody wants to come into this area,” he said.

Seward and his family use satellite internet from Hughesnet, but East Texas pine trees sometimes block the signal from coming through. So does inclement weather. On a recent Friday, rainfall knocked out his connection, he said.

He pays about $120 per month for the service.

Seward previously worked from home, and a lack of reliable internet signal often interrupted his work, he said. He said he’d like to have better internet service so he and his family could stream movies and do online schoolwork.

“The internet’s just not very good,” he said.

In East Mountain in Upshur County, Daniel Medrano and his wife home-school their children. They teach them how to make videos and use other technological tools that could help them get jobs, he said.

Their internet provider, Skynet, has offered good service, Medrano said. However, its upload speeds are slow, which limits what the family can do with online video projects.

“It’s like you’re being punished for choosing to live outside of town,” said Medrano, an oilfield business development manager. “I would really like to see fiber-optic put in, which is not available on my road in my area. I’ve seen it being put in the Union Grove area out in the country, but I don’t know why it hasn’t reached East Mountain.”

Medrano pays $100 per month for Skynet. He said he has signed up to get home internet from T-Mobile, which he hopes will provide faster speeds — giving his family a chance to do more online.

“I think that having that same access to those same resources where we live would definitely be beneficial to being able to home-school and just be able to conduct a normal life,” he said.

Broadband plan

Even if internet service providers expand their networks, people won’t be able to use them if they can’t afford internet service or don’t know how to access the web, Dolive said.

That’s why the construction of new internet networks is only one part of the state’s broadband plan, officials say. One goal is to increase digital literacy among Texans by teaching more people how to use the internet to apply for jobs, attend school online and engage in society.

As part of its plan, the broadband office plans to partner with and fund organizations that host educational workshops for those who lack the skills to use a computer or communicate on the web.

In Gregg County, the Longview Public Library offers free computer classes for community members. Those who are interested in learning more can call (903) 237-1350.

Broadband leaders also want to educate more Texans about the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program, which subsidizes the cost of a home internet connection for people who couldn’t afford it otherwise.

While the broadband office is seeking public input on the plan, the only way people can provide comment on it is by visiting the office’s website, comptroller.texas.gov/programs/broadband .

A spokesman working with the department suggested that those who’d like to comment but don’t have internet access could find a friend or family member who does.

People also could use mobile phones with internet signal or visit public libraries and institutions that provide internet access to the public.

Conte, the broadband office’s director, said those who want more information about the public comment process can email digital.opportunity@cpa.texas.gov or call 833-3-TEXBDO (833-383-9236).

While he’s been using satellite internet, Johnson, the Upshur County resident, started using Verizon wireless internet in December. He said he intends to cancel his satellite service. So far, wireless internet has been better and cheaper, he said.

The first time he was able to stream a movie without any interruptions or delays, he was “tickled pink,” he said.

“It works a whole lot better,” he said.