HARLINGEN — After months of planning, officials here are searching for nearly $10 million in grant money to bridge the “digital divide” leaving about 34 percent of the city’s households without internet access.
Earlier this week, consultants presented city commissioners with a study projecting the cost of extending fiber optic lines connecting homes and city buildings to the internet at $9.7 million.
Now, officials are planning to tap funding sources to try to land grant money to finance the project.
“We’re trying to figure out our scope and find funding,” Assistant City Manager Craig Cook said Thursday. “We’re trying to identify our options and formulate the model — where we put the fiber and who potentially will be served.”
To help fund the project, officials are considering entering into agreements with partners that could include the Harlingen school district, Cameron County or an internet service provider, Assistant City Manager Josh Ramirez said.
“We want to make sure the students have access to high-speed connectivity,” he said. “We’re looking at connecting our municipal buildings.”
City households lacking internet access
Last year, city officials teamed up with the Harlingen school district to split the cost of paying Houston-based Cobb Fendley and Associates $100,000 to conduct a feasibility study focused on providing high-speed internet across town.
“The plan will aim to bridge the digital divide in the community and provide communication access to government entities, educational facilities, partners and unserved-undeserved communities,” the study presented Wednesday stated.
During a meeting, consultants said many of the city’s households lacked internet access.
“Getting connectivity across the city is the ultimate goal,” Project Manager Melissa Beaudry told commissioners. “We really are looking at building a fiber network for you all as a part of this design.”
Meanwhile, a map shows households with incomes under $40,000 in the area north of Wilson Road lack internet access.
“Many of their students do not have internet at their homes,” Project Engineer Jacob Triska said, referring to the Harlingen school district.
Tapping funding sources
In response to Commissioner Michael Mezmar’s question, Beaudry said she believed there was a “high probability” of landing grant money to fund the entire $9.7 million project.
“There is definitely funding out there to support the implementation,” she told commissioners.
Beaudry said possible funding sources include the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, offering a total of $3.75 billion and the American Rescue Plan Act, offering a total of $10 billion.
Service fee
To offer the service, officials are planning to charge a fee.
In Pharr, officials are charging monthly fees of $25 for their service, City Manager Gabriel Gonzalez said.
Officials have not set a timetable for the project’s completion, Ramirez said.
Revamping project
Last year, commissioners earmarked $4 million of the city’s $21 million share of the American Rescue Plan to help fund the project.
Since then, commissioners have reconsidered the project, agreeing to tap the money to fund other projects, Ramirez said.
Digital divide
In Harlingen, 7,887 homes, or 34.4 percent of a total of 22,901 households, lack broadband connection, ranking the city second to the bottom, ahead of only Pharr, according to the 2019 Census’ American Community Survey of 185 large and mid-sized cities.
Meanwhile, the Census survey ranked the city as fifth to the bottom based on its number of households lacking access to wireless connections.
At City Hall, Sergio Mujica, the city’s technology director, said many residents cannot afford high-speed internet service.
