The planning has been underway for two years and included multiple local entities and planning partners, Rich Gagnon, assistant city manager and chief information officer, told Industry Insider — Texas.
Amarillo and the Panhandle area have a large digital divide, as do many other regions in the state, but pandemic closures in 2020 and new virtual norms have illustrated just how much connectivity is needed in the region.
“A couple of years ago, the mayor and Councilmember Howard Smith came to me and asked, ‘How do we solve this problem?’” Gagnon said. “Big community problems take lots of community leaders, so we formed a working group.”
A few of the organizations they called on were the Amarillo ISD, Region 16 Education Service Center and nonprofits such as Connected Nation. The data from these and other groups allowed city leaders to visualize what infrastructure was needed, and Gagnon said the school district data was key in understanding student needs.
The group then tested technology and built financial models — dozens of models, since the city wanted to be able to fund the infrastructure for the long run.
Now, in the largest project of this scale, Gagnon said, the city will partner with AT&T, using $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds along with monies from AT&T to build a fiber network reaching homes, businesses, apartments and public properties. Some of the areas have never had a hard internet connection.
The minimum speed standard will match the new federal standard of 100 Mbps, and the city will work with families who qualify for the Affordable Connectivity Program stipend. This network will positively impact education, health care and the workforce with multiple goals in play, Gagnon said.
“The city of Amarillo broadband access plan is one of the more significant technological infrastructure advancements in city history,” said Amarillo Mayor Ginger Nelson in a news release. “Amarillo is taking the lead in ensuring all its residents have access to the world wide web and its countless uses — from education to workforce development to health care and more.
“AT&T, with a longtime tradition of excellence in communication, is the perfect company for this historic project that will benefit the entire Amarillo community and serve as a template for other cities and communities to follow on how to connect their residents in the digital age.”
