Service Availability

Develop a local broadband task force or leadership team composed of local officials who work on all related infrastructure, including: elected leaders, and heads of public utilities, public works, engineering, housing, transportation, or development services. A balance of senior administration and technical leadership is vital for the success of the initiative.

In addition, partners from outside the public realm can be included and provider strategic advisory support or potentially unlock supplementary resources and grants, such as: local service providers, private utilities, school districts, higher education institutions, healthcare providers, and major employers.

In addition, per the H-GAC High Speed Internet Strategy, “a successful broadband deployment will be led by a dedicated champion,” such as an in-house network engineer, administrative or department director, or a committed volunteer who is enthusiastic and can communicate the vision of the value that broadband can bring to the community.

This champion will keep elected officials engaged and the public informed about the benefits of broadband network expansion to retain and build political will to see projects through to completion.

Building fiber-based or fixed wireless internet networks can take years, so with limited time and resources, define what is most important for targeted, phased expansion.

Using information in the map data above, decide on criteria for your priority users and geographies.

Who are the users in need of increased access? What are the target geographies? What are the socioeconomic characteristics of those communities which would impact their ability to pay for service?

Our advanced Data Explorer includes more detail, including FCC availability layers and Census data layers to refine your search.

Conduct a local speed test and gather service demand information from a sample of households, businesses, farms, healthcare providers or education institutions in your target geography.

While service providers often conduct their own speed tests when they are ready to implement their plans, public officials have a great opportunity to present accurate, local information directly. This is a low-cost, high-impact opportunity to offer meaningful data and form strong partnerships with service providers.

Speed Test Resources

• ConnectedNation Texas can support a local speed test effort, community needs survey, and strategic planning process.

• Local Speed Test Services are available from Ookla, AllConnect, and TestMy.net.

• Understand limitations of various speed test methods and results.

  • "Understanding Broadband Speed Measurements"

  • "Make Better Funding Decisions with Accurate Broadband Network Data" from Measurement Lab.

• Use our Data Explorer "Find Internet Service Provider" tool to see companies offering service in nearby geographies.
• Share local data to inform service providers' strategies or business case for network expansion (infrastructure, easements, cell towers, tall public buildings, new developments, speed test results, known service complaints, or gaps).
• Understand service providers' investment strategies and network expansion plans. They will likely have criteria for achieving a target return on investment for infrastructure outlays or offering different levels of service.
• Support Deployment in Federally Awarded Areas. The rural areas of the Houston-Galveston Region have already been awarded tens of millions of dollars of federal subsidies to deploy infrastructure over the coming years. Support their ability to deploy out these projects quickly, efficiently, and ideally strategic alignment with your communities’ highest priority areas or populations.
• Support service provider’s ability to meet their service subscription goals by developing a plan to simultaneously increase user adoption rates so that all members of the community can access the benefits of increased or enhanced speed.
• Work with service providers to align priorities and remove barriers to service deployment.

Conduct an inventory of vertical assets that can accommodate fixed wireless equipment (e.g. 4G LTE or 5G).

As with supporting any new development or infrastructure, local governments have many tools available to support broadband network expansion and expansion through how they strategically utilize existing assets and implement policies. There are a number of assets to consider and the following materials relate to: vertical or aerial assets, underground assets, or real estate assets and right-of-way.

The FCC supports the private sector’s role in this and encourages One Touch Make Ready Regimes for pole owners to effectively manage and maintain their utility poles to support third party utilization of all available vertical assets.

The Public Infrastructure Projects and Facilities Map shows the locations of cell towers in the region. Other public vertical assets can be leveraged to support network expansion and can be leased to generate revenue. These assets include:

• Water towers
• Tall buildings
• Community facilities or civic buildings
• Utility poles

Vertical Asset Leases Resources

If you are open to using public vertical assets to support internet service providers' network expansion, the following resources can help you design a One-Touch Make Ready (OTMR) regime that supports an efficient, safe, and effective process for leveraging vertical assets through leases and third-party agreements:

• Tips to Maximize Your Water Tower Lease

• Understanding Small Cell Opportunities & Leases

• City of Trenton Municipal Code Chapter 34 on Small Wireless Facilities

• MSC Resources for Leasing of Government Property for Siting of Telecommunications Facilities

• Considerations for Evaluation of Public-Private Partnership models

• High level considerations on how to Facilitate Access to Utility Poles

Leverage planned public infrastructure projects or developments to accommodate service providers' network expansions.

The Public Infrastructure Projects and Facilities Map shows possible points of leverage to develop public private partnerships such as:

• Infrastructure projects that accommodate the laying of fiber lines (e.g. state highways or regional thoroughfares),
• Planned development projects which allow for quickly deploying fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP),
• Census tracts that have been awarded federal grants or subsidies to expand infrastructure. Public infrastructure projects in these areas present a low-hanging fruit to align public and private investments.

Use of Public Right-of-Way Resources

• Subdivision Ordinances for including broadband in future development

  • Model Ordinance from City of Celina, TX

  • Model Ordinance from City of Frisco, TX

• Dig Once or Dig Smart policies install broadband infrastructure when the street is opened for construction. This lowers costs and decreases interruptions in the public right-of-way.

  • "Policies and Ordinances that Facilitate Broadband Deployment"

  • Model Dig Once Ordinance from SCCOG

  • Texas DOT Utility Accommodations Toolkit

  • Dig Once Model Legislation from Duraline

Understand Service Provider Funding Landscape

Federal grant programs can be awarded to entities willing to develop, own, manage or operate infrastructure and facilities used to provide broadband service. See the Service Provider Funding page to understand their requirements, eligible geographic areas and other considerations to receiving funding.

These programs don't typically cover all of the cost of providing service to an area, but are a meaningful subsidy. Understanding the eligible areas in your local area can help you understand areas that local providers might have an easier time making investments that achieve the necessary ROI to cover costs of expansion or enhancing networks.

Municipal Networks

Municipal networks are typically built, owned, and operated by a municipality. These networks can take a variety of forms: they can connect government assets, such as the schools, libraries, and city halls to the internet, or service business and residents.

• Read a case study of the City of Mont Belvieu's municipally owned network: MBLink.

• The City of Dayton is in the process of launching a municipally owned network: DayNet.

• H-GAC's Regional High Speed Internet Strategy provides several helpful resources for making the next steps toward increasing access in your community.

• Otelco has developed a Complete Guide to Municipal Broadband to walk you through preliminary assessments of whether municipal broadband is right for your community.

• Next Century Cities offers a helpful Becoming Broadband Ready Toolkit which covers several aspects of self-reliant service provision and other considerations.