Here in the Lone Star State, we’ve never been afraid to work together to take on big challenges.
In our almost 200-year history, generations of Texans have used a hard-charging spirit to homestead ranches that continue to keep food on America’s table, pioneer an energy industry that has led to sustained economic growth nationwide and transform cities like Austin, Dallas and Houston into hubs for innovation and growth.
As a native Texan, I’ve seen firsthand that today – no matter where you are or what you’re doing across our great state – personal and professional success is increasingly linked to one’s ability to get online. Not only does it serve as the backbone for many of our daily activities, it’s also a driving factor for Texan-led innovation.
Now more than ever, an innovator attitude is needed to take on the challenge of closing the digital divide and bringing the benefits of internet connectivity to even more Texans.
Earlier this year, I was pleased to join Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar in Prairie View on his Texas Broadband Office Listening Tour, where AT&T provided input on the development of a State Broadband Plan.
We shared our vision for how – with a combination of efforts from both the private sector and local governments – we can build high-speed connections for more communities and bring new opportunities to more Texans.
This approach is central to our continued mission to collaborate and serve as a resource for communities working to get Texas connected, as we’ve done for over 140 years.
What’s new? We continue to demonstrate this commitment today, most recently in Amarillo, Texas where we’re working to build a state-of-the-art-fiber network by teaming up with the community. This $24M project will connect more than 22,000 households and businesses across the city with AT&T Fiber, bringing speeds up to 5Gbps.
- The new state-of-the-art network will help bolster Amarillo’s important contribution to the state’s leadership in bioscience and high tech industries.
Projects like this remind me of why I am excited for Texas’ future. As we near the state’s 200th birthday, we should reflect on how far we’ve come and how far we still have left to go.
Robust investments made by Texan communities today – especially investments that prime the network for growing bandwidth demands – will propel sustained innovation and economic growth tomorrow.
In the case of Amarillo, we’re bringing families and small businesses the connection they need to grow, readying the network for more devices and new innovations, as our need for connection transforms and grows.
Bottom line: Projects like this – that put customers, neighbors, and communities at the forefront – can be game-changing for Amarillo and other localities across Texas.
At AT&T, we are ready to team up directly with communities to design unique solutions to fit their communication and technology needs. By combining our expertise in building fiber broadband networks with the on-the-ground knowledge of community leaders, we can make real progress in closing the digital divide – together.
