RECENTLY PASSED LEGISLATION AUTHORIZES LCRA TO CONNECT RURAL TEXANS TO HIGH-SPEED INTERNET

Nearly a century after helping light up the Hill Country by delivering electricity, LCRA has been called to light up the information age in our service territory under a bill that recently passed in both chambers of the Texas Legislature.

S.B. 632, authorizes LCRA to connect rural Texans to critically needed broadband services by providing the fiber capacity and facilities needed by internet service providers to reach rural areas.

More than 2 million Texas households do not have high-speed internet, according to a 2019 report from the Texas Comptroller's Office. The lack of broadband access in Texas' rural areas has been further highlighted by the coronavirus pandemic, but providing internet access in rural areas remains financially unattractive to major providers because of high infrastructure costs and the relatively small number of people to be served.

Fortunately, LCRA is in a unique position to help. With 3,700 miles of transmission lines, much of which is already equipped with the fiber capacity needed to deliver high-speed internet.

The bill was signed by Governor Abbott on April 30th and is effective immediately.