2023 Texas Statutes › Government Code › Title 4 - Executive Branch › Subtitle F - Commerce and Industrial Development › Chapter 490I - Broadband Development Office › Section 490I.0105. Broadband Development Map

Sec. 490I.0105.  BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT MAP.  (a)  The broadband development office shall create, update annually, and publish on the comptroller's Internet website a map classifying each broadband serviceable location in this state as:
(1)  an unserved location if the location does not have access to reliable broadband service capable of providing the speeds described by Section 490I.0101(a);
(2)  an underserved location if the location is not an unserved location but does not have access to reliable broadband service with the capability of providing:
(A)  a speed of not less than 100 megabits per second for a download;
(B)  a speed of not less than 20 megabits per second for an upload; and
(C)  a network round-trip latency of less than or equal to 100 milliseconds based on the 95th percentile of speed measurements; or
(3)  a served location if the location is neither an unserved nor an underserved location.
(b)  The comptroller by rule may establish new threshold speeds for a location to qualify as an underserved location if the comptroller has required Internet service to be capable of matching federal standards to qualify as broadband service under Section 490I.0101(b).
(c)  After creation of the initial map described in Subsection (a), the office may evaluate the usefulness of the standards for unserved and underserved locations outlined in Subsection (a) and, if appropriate, make a recommendation to the legislature to revise the standards.
(d)  The map required by Subsection (a) must organize broadband serviceable locations into designated areas and display for each area:
(1)  the number of broadband service providers that serve the area;
(2)  an indication of whether the area has access to Internet service that is not broadband service, regardless of the technology used to provide the service;
(3)  each public school campus with an indication of whether the public school campus has access to broadband service; and
(4)  the number and percentage of unserved, underserved, and served locations within the area.
(e)  The office must create, update, and publish the map in a manner consistent with the most current mapping methodology adopted by the Federal Communications Commission.
(f)  Except as provided by Subsection (g), the office shall use the best available data, including information available from the Federal Communications Commission, to create or update the map.
(g)  If information from the Federal Communications Commission is not available or not sufficient for the office to create or update the map, the office may request the necessary information from a political subdivision or broadband service provider, and the subdivision or provider may report the information to the office.  The office may not require a subdivision or provider to report information in a format different from the format required by the most current mapping methodology adopted by the Federal Communications Commission.
(h)  Information a broadband service provider reports to the office under Subsection (g) and information provided by the Federal Communications Commission, if not publicly available, is confidential and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552.
(i)  The office may contract with a private consultant or other appropriate person who is not associated or affiliated with a commercial broadband provider, including a local governmental entity, to provide technical or administrative assistance to the office for the purpose of creating or updating the map.
(j)  The office may release information reported under Subsection (g) to a contractor providing services under Subsection (i).  The contractor shall:
(1)  keep the information confidential; and
(2)  return the information to the office on the earliest of the following dates:
(A)  the date the contract expires;
(B)  the date the contract is terminated; or
(C)  the date the mapping project for which the contractor is providing services is complete.
(k)  A person who contracts under Subsection (i) may not provide services in this state to a broadband provider before the second anniversary of the last day the contract is in effect.
(l)  The office shall establish criteria for determining whether a broadband serviceable location should be reclassified as an unserved or underserved location.  The criteria must include an evaluation of Internet speed test and reliability data.
(m)  Repealed by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 352 (S.B. 1238), Sec. 7(2), eff. June 2, 2023.
(n)  A broadband service provider or political subdivision may petition the office to reclassify a broadband serviceable location. The office shall provide notice of each accepted petition to each affected broadband service provider and political subdivision by posting notice of the petition on the comptroller's Internet website.
(o)  Not later than the 45th day after the date that the office posts notice under Subsection (n), each affected broadband service provider or political subdivision may provide information to the office showing whether the broadband serviceable location should or should not be reclassified.
(p)  Not later than the 75th day after the date that the office posts the notice under Subsection (n), the office shall determine whether to reclassify the broadband serviceable location on the map and update the map as necessary.  A determination made by the office under this subsection is not a contested case for purposes of Chapter 2001.
(q)  The office is not required to create, update, or publish a map under this section if the Federal Communications Commission produces a map that:
(1)  enables the office to identify eligible and ineligible areas, as described by Subsection (a); and
(2)  meets the requirements of Subsection (d).
Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 625 (H.B. 5), Sec. 5, eff. June 15, 2021.
Amended by:
Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 352 (S.B. 1238), Sec. 2, eff. June 2, 2023.
Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 352 (S.B. 1238), Sec. 7(2), eff. June 2, 2023.