PLANNING FOR DIGITAL INCLUSION IN TEXAS

For all Texans, broadband is a necessity. From students doing homework to adults looking for jobs,  working, shopping, banking, and making family medical appointments, Texans need affordable and  reliable high-speed internet.  

The Governor’s Broadband Development Council and Texas legislators have focused on rural  communities where broadband infrastructure deployment has lagged. State agencies and telecom  companies are collaborating on efforts to expand rural broadband infrastructure.  

Equally important is a focus on other under-served populations who also have far lower rates of  broadband adoption compared with the general public. Low-income households, school-age children,  older adults, BIPOC (Black, indigenous, and people of color) households, and people with disabilities  are among the Texans who most lack broadband access. As legislators pass a law creating a state  broadband office, they should ensure that the office assesses broadband access and adoption for all  unserved and under-served populations. This is critical to closing the widely acknowledged “digital  divide” and advancing digital equity.  

Digital inclusion, or the effort to ensure that all communities can access and afford reliable, high-speed  internet and have the technology equipment and know-how to use it, is multi-pronged. It depends not  only on infrastructure deployment, but also on efforts relating to broadband affordability, digital literacy  skills training, access to appropriate internet-enabled devices, and technical support. State support  and local innovations based on local needs and resources are both necessary to close the divide.  

The mission and programs of the state broadband office must prioritize digital inclusion to ensure that  all Texans benefit from broadband access. As the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us, all Texans need  broadband to study, work, connect to health care and essential services, and thrive. The Legislature  and the contemplated state broadband office should ensure that digital inclusion measures are part of  the core mission of the state’s work on broadband expansion.