A countywide broadband task force is being developed to address what Harris County commissioners are calling a "digital divide." Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said the initial baseline metrics that outline a need for the task force included the following Harris County statistics:
- 155,000 households lack high-speed internet.
- 222,000 households rely only on smartphones for internet.
- 171,000 households lost reliable internet after the national federal program, Affordable Connectivity, ended last June due to a lack of federal funding, according to the Federal Communications Commission.
The impact
Garcia said the opportunity comes as the 2026 FIFA World Cup could challenge internet connectivity in the county.
"Our bandwidth will be very challenged during the time that thousands of new folks will be here for at least a couple of weeks," Garcia said. "We need to make sure that we remain connected, that we're able to handle anything, especially if an emergency may arise."
Digging deeper
Universal Services, Harris County's information technology department, will develop the broadband task force with county department representation and other partners including:
- Communities with the lowest level of internet connectivity at the time of the motion
- Internet providers
- School districts throughout the county
- Nonprofits addressing the digital divide
- Workforce organizations
- Community colleges, public universities and technical schools
By the numbers
Harris County’s Broadband Office started in November 2020 after commissioners at the time determined there was a greater need for more public internet, particularly for communities where both home internet and public internet were not readily available, according to the department’s website.
Since its inauguration, the county broadband office provided the county with:
- More than 17,000 hotspots for students
- More than 100 free Wi-Fi locations
- More than 19 wireless data transmission sites
Precinct 3 Tom Ramsey asked why the county data presented to commissioners suggested that internet connectivity concerns weren't a problem for the unincorporated areas in his precinct. Sindhu Menon, Universal Service's chief information officer, said Precinct 3 had the highest number of teleworkers.
"It is not one size fits all," Menon said. "As you have seen in the report, it differs from precinct to precinct."
What residents should know
A map showcasing where Harris County’s high-speed internet access locations are located can be found on the county website here.
Next steps
The county’s administration office and other broadband stakeholders will report back to commissioners by Oct. 16 on the new committee’s structure, governing documents and bylaws.
