Work to expand high-speed internet access throughout Gregg County is moving forward on two fronts.
Crews with Charter Communications, the parent company of internet provider Spectrum, will begin building broadband internet infrastructure in January in parts of the county where the service isn性视界传媒檛 available.
Meanwhile, the East Texas Council of Governments 性视界传媒 a consortium of county governments and institutions from across the region 性视界传媒 is pursuing broadband expansion projects in 13 counties, including Gregg.
Though Charter性视界传媒檚 projects and the council of governments性视界传媒 projects are separate, both have the same goal of giving East Texans access to high-speed internet.
Here性视界传媒檚 the rundown of what Charter Communications and ETCOG aim to accomplish.
Charter Communications The company性视界传媒檚 leaders plan to build 443 miles of broadband infrastructure throughout Gregg County, potentially bringing 5,090 homes and businesses online. Internet service via the company性视界传媒檚 infrastructure should be available in 2026.
The internet Spectrum offers will have download speeds of 1 gigabyte per second and upload speeds of 500 megabytes per second 性视界传媒 fast enough to allow multiple people in a home to stream high-definition video simultaneously.
The work is funded, in part, by the federal government性视界传媒檚 Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, which awards internet service providers money to implement new service in primarily rural areas. Internet services providers submitted bids to the government to complete the work in various regions.
Charter will spend about $5 billion to build new infrastructure nationwide and has received $1.2 billion from the federal government.
A Spectrum telecommunications company bucket truck is shown near Omaha, Texas, on June 11 in this photo provided by the company. Charter Communications, the parent company of Spectrum, is expanding broadband throughout the region using federal funding. (Contributed photo)
Gregg County is one of 56 counties in East Texas where the company will build fiber-optic infrastructure to give people access to high-speed internet. The company aims to give high-speed internet access to 75,000 East Texans who don性视界传媒檛 have it.
East Texas is one of the least-connected regions of the state, according to the Texas Broadband Development Office. Expanding broadband access has become a priority for state and federal lawmakers since the coronavirus pandemic, when people increasingly needed internet access for healthcare and education.
Charter crews have been working in Northeast Texas counties this year, giving high-speed internet access to thousands of homes in Franklin, Hopkins, Red River and Titus counties. Crews also will install infrastructure in Harrison, Rusk, Smith, Upshur and Wood counties, among others.
Joe Canales, senior director of construction, told Gregg County commissioners Nov. 25 that the company性视界传媒檚 goal is to bring internet access to isolated rural homes. All of the areas where the company was designated by the federal government to provide internet service will have access to it.
性视界传媒淭he whole focus is getting to those one, two customers that don性视界传媒檛 have it,性视界传媒 Canales said.
As crews install the required infrastructure, they性视界传媒檒l be looking for opportunities to add connections to nearby homes and businesses as well 性视界传媒 which the company calls 性视界传媒渟ynergy性视界传媒 connections. That could give consumers in areas that already have high-speed internet another option for internet service.
Customers who choose the company性视界传媒檚 internet service also can sign up for cellular service.
People in East Texas who want to know when they can have access to the company性视界传媒檚 services can visit .
This photo shows the five internet expansion projects the East Texas Council of Governments is pursuing in Gregg County. (Contributed photo)
ETCOGLeaders of the East Texas Council of Governments have spent years developing broadband internet expansion plans for the counties they serve. Now, they性视界传媒檝e taking another step forward, said David Scott, director of special projects.
The council is seeking funding to implement 65 projects throughout the region, including five projects in Gregg County. ETCOG leaders are applying for grant funding and hope to hear good news in spring 2025.
性视界传媒淲e are now moving out of the planning phases,性视界传媒 Scott said. 性视界传媒淚 think after the first of the year, we性视界传媒檙e going to start seeing some real movement in the actual installation part of this, we hope.性视界传媒
Ultimately, county commissioners性视界传媒 courts will solicit bids from internet service providers to install the infrastructure.
To learn more about the council of governments性视界传媒 projects, visit .
