A series of meetings this month in East Texas will mark formal steps to draft a county-by-county broadband plan for the region.
The East Texas Regional Broadband Initiative is a 14-county project led by the East Texas Council of Governments or ETCOG alongside the consultancy of Connected Texas, which aims to advance technology in rural Texas.
Ron Turner, Connected Texas’ community technology adviser, says he plans to hold meetings in all 14 counties to develop tailored plans for broadband connectivity.
“What we’re going to do is to show a vision of a rural renaissance of what East Texas can look like with a broadband infrastructure, both in terms of quality of life and economic prosperity,” Dallas-based Turner said.
ETCOG’s research manager Nanette Stephens says there are parts of East Texas that don’t have internet access or are underserved with few options. Before investing in fiber optic cable and towers, according to Stephens, it’s important to understand the broadband situation of each county and get face-to-face input from residents and businesses.
“Providers can go out there and place something, but is that really what that is needed? We need the input from the community as a whole,” Stephens said.
Stephens says it could take up to a year to draft individual county plans and fold that into a regional broadband vision. She says grants and other funding to carry out each plan will be tackled in the next phase.
Broadband meeting schedule:
TYLER MEETING
May 6, 2014
9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Tyler Workforce Center
4100 Troup Hwy.
Tyler, Texas
PALESTINE MEETING
May 7, 2014
9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
2000 S. Loop 256 (Palestine Mall), Suite 18
Palestine, Texas
LONGVIEW MEETING
May 8, 2014
9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Longview Workforce Center
2430 S. High St. Suite A-1
Longview, Texas
SULPHUR SPRINGS MEETING
May 12, 2014
9:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Sulphur Springs Public Library
611 Davis St. North
Sulphur Springs, Texas
PARIS MEETING
May 12, 2014
1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Paris Junior College
McLemore Student Center
2400 Clarksville, Room 219
Paris, Texas
MT. PLEASANT MEETING
May 13, 2014
9 – 11 a.m.
Mt. Pleasant Public Library
601 N. Madison
Mt. Pleasant, Texas
TEXARKANA MEETING
May 13, 2014
1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Ark-Tex Council of Governments
4808 Elizabeth
Texarkana, Texas
