'Closing the digital divide': Amarillo approves broadband collaboration with AT&T

The city of Amarillo announced Tuesday at a news conference during its regular council meeting an agreement to partner with AT&T to be a vendor for its citywide broadband initiative to get the city connected and underserved communities more Internet access.

Designed to build a state-of-the-art fiber network across the region, the $24 million project aims to bridge the gap in broadband access across the city. Approved unanimously by the city council, this measure awards the contract to AT&T with $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds committed from the city in the process. This project is aimed at fixing and futureproofing the significant issue of broadband access in the city, especially in areas such as the northeast portion, which has lower areas of access.

One major weakness of the city’s infrastructure was exposed, as many other cities were discovering during the COVID-19 pandemic, in which a reliance of today's workforce, students and those seeking social services on high-speed internet left many Amarillo residents lacking due to limited exposure throughout the city. The project will place Wi-Fi in public places such as parks and will be available for citizens in Amarillo to use freely.

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Rich Gagnon, Chief Information Officer for Amarillo, spoke about the council’s approval to partner with AT&T to connect more than 22,000 customer locations with improved broadband connectivity.

“Today is a big day for Amarillo; this will provide fiber service to 22,837 homes in the city,” Gagnon said. “This is about half of the city which currently has no broadband or does not qualify by federal standards as a broadband connection. Today we begin closing the digital divide in the city of Amarillo.”

Gagnon said that in a city where about 68% of children are on the assisted lunch program, there are many families that will qualify for assistance in provided Internet. He stressed that today’s industry and schools have a need for broadband access to thrive and for Amarillo to compete in the workforce.

“There is no such thing as a tech industry anymore. All industries are tech industries, and what we are doing through this project is just establishing Amarillo as the leader. If you are looking for a place to build a business of the future, it is here in Amarillo because were building the city of the future,” Gagnon added. “This is a gamechanger for the community and will benefit everyone in Amarillo.”

Outlining the completion timeline, Gagnon said that this project will be 70% complete within 18 months and fully completed within three years. He said the next steps taken will be to improve digital literacy and get households signed up for the program. The adoption rate from households will be a key factor in the success of the program.

Fred Maldonado, regional vice president of AT&T, spoke about his company’s ambitions and role in the project.

“We are proud of the city of Amarillo for taking the lead to be the first city in the state of Texas to create this particular public-private partnership with us. We have several of these throughout the country, but this is the first in the state,” Maldonado said. “We will work with the city closely to make sure we are putting fiber in the ground efficiently.”

Maldonado spoke about the need for the city to get the community to buy in on the project, because it does not matter what is built if it is not used to its potential. He said that while broadband is a necessity for all, they must be educated and know what is available to them under this program.

“Whether it be workforce readiness, whether you go to college, it is giving everyone that chance to succeed in life, and that is by having technology at their hands, which is the world we see today,” Maldonado said. “We need to make sure we are engaged with the community, and they know this service is available to them.”

When asked what the benefit to AT&T is with its investment in the program, Maldonado stated that access to the entire community and businesses would make AT&T a leader in the community, and this project is not just about today, but with its positives to Amarillo with education and workforce readiness, it will be a boon to finding talent for the company as it grows its business.

State Rep. Four Price for the 87th District gave his thoughts on the partnership, which will benefit many of his constituents. Price stated that in 2018, he worked with many in his party to identify connectivity issues as a priority issue for the state and especially this area.

Price authored HB 1960, which overwhelmingly passed to create a broadband council. The council's purpose was to discuss issues relating to access to broadband across the state of Texas, identifying barriers to access, as well as researching solutions to overcome them.

“This program going on in Amarillo is an absolute example of what can be accomplished and how connectivity can be made available to folks throughout all communities across Texas," Price said. “Connectivity today is every bit as important as electrification was over 100 years ago.”

Citing that the need for this type of connectivity is so prevalent in our everyday life that this is now as vital service as any other, Price emphasized that the benefits to education, health care and workforce will make Amarillo a model for other cities.

Amarillo Councilmember Howard Smith talked how the city’s Internet issues were brought to light when he received a report that showed the weakness of broadband access in the city and Panhandle, in relation to other areas of the state. He said that this infrastructure meeting was able to spark the idea to create a better system for the city.

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“I saw the vision that we had to do something, something right here. The vision that I had but they brought me into the vision, and now we are where we're at today,” Smith said. “This will make a tremendous difference months from now throughout the city."

Smith praised the effort of the members of the council, the city and the people whom Mayor Ginger Nelson helped to bring in to make this project happen.

Nelson spoke about the uniqueness of the win for Amarillo that could be a model for other cities in the state to use. She emphasized that not having reliable Internet service handicaps children and families, reducing their opportunity to function and succeed in today’s world.

“We feel the weight of responsibility, as every leader does, to most importantly represent those that do not have a voice in changing the current situation,” Nelson said. “I feel this project is definitely a win for the thousands and thousands of Amarilloans that will have a better service to connect them to have a better quality of life and a better future.”

Nelson said that this project will benefit future generations, and it will be needed as Amarillo continues to grow at a rapid pace, with many businesses interested in becoming a part of the community.

“This is a great example of change that can happen when multiple levels of government are in sync and working together,” Nelson added. “I am grateful that Amarillo is in the front of the line to do this; this is a unique and historic win for the city.”

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo approves broadband initiative collaboration with AT&T