The Rio Grande Valley Broadband Coalition is pleased to endorse its member, the City of Brownsville, and the proposal for a Middle Mile grant administered by the Broadband Development Office, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
As a regional community-driven coalition united in the mission to expand digital access and adoption, and representing 50 local governments, nonprofits, healthcare organizations, ISPs, engineering and construction firms, and educational institutions—we are deeply committed to supporting Brownsville’s Middle Mile proposal. Brownsville is playing a pioneering role in demonstrating how investment in fiber optic infrastructure is a prerequisite for economic growth and upward mobility for the people of the RGV and all of Texas.
Indeed, Brownsville’s proposal is crucial to the region’s success in achieving the RGV Broadband and Digital Opportunity Plan, facilitated by the Coalition. The Plan was inspired by the efforts of the TX BDO and was ultimately incorporated into the regional economic development plan of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council.
Moreover, the Brownsville Middle Mile initiative touches each focus area of the regional plan.
Brownsville’s proposal strategically expands infrastructure with the purpose of creating economic opportunity by partnering with ISPs to connect communities to affordable and reliable broadband, connecting key economic development sites to redundant fiber networks, expanding telehealth, creating jobs for a broadband tech workforce, and increasing small business digitalization.
The proposed Middle Mile Network Expansion Project adds 131 miles of 100% underground, redundant fiber infrastructure to the City of Brownsville's current Middle Mile Network. The expansion includes extensions from Brownsville to Russell Town, San Benito, Port of Brownsville, and SpaceX/Starbase. Together, these routes will more than double the system’s reach, creating a diverse and resilient backbone for ISPs to deliver affordable service in surrounding communities. As highlighted with examples in the RGV Broadband Plan, when rural and low-income communities have fiber backhaul that runs near (or through them) and it is made accessible to ISPs—the ISPs in our coalition then make the business case for building the extensions necessary to provide affordable service, including fiber-to-the-home and next- generation fixed wireless.
The RGV Broadband Coalition, with the City of Pharr as Lead Applicant, was recently notified that we will receive a grant to help build the Texas Broadband Workforce. Brownsville is one of the committed employer partners, and Workforce Solutions Cameron County is a core partner in providing the Fiber Broadband Association Fiber Optic Path industry credential, managing paid internships and apprenticeships, and job placement.
Brownsville anticipates employing an average of 65–80 local workers at any given time throughout the construction period, with peak activity reaching approximately 100 workers during simultaneous trenching, boring, and splicing operations. The workforce will include skilled trades and technical specialists, including the Fiber Network Technician and related jobs the newly credentialed residents will be prepared for, such as, conduit installation and vault setting personnel; fiber optic splicers and network technicians; site supervisors and quality control inspectors.
Thus, the Brownsville proposal represents the kind of infrastructure expansion that will create labor market demand and a fertile ground for the paid internships and job placement the City of Pharr and regional RGV partners will be preparing residents for with support from the TX BDO.
However, the jobs created directly by this build are just the beginning of the job creation. Given the purpose and vision set forth by Brownsville, what this expanded network makes possible is highly efficient redundant service to be made available to many sectors, including water treatment and distribution plants, electric utility distribution, data centers, hospitals and clinics, and emergency response and communication during disasters (increasing the resiliency of the community).
In short, by supporting investment in Brownsville's Middle Mile proposal, the BDO will catalyze a regional project that will positively impact sectors that are searching for the most efficient way to meet ever-growing demand for redundant fiber to upgrade and expand their broadband networks throughout their operations and distribution systems. All this activity creates more jobs across industries for fiber optic network technicians in designing, building, and maintenance, thus creating more internship and job opportunities for the residents in the RGV broadband workforce program, higher wage jobs in the region, and productivity in the economy.
This is the kind of economic development the State of Texas knows how to do! The RGV Broadband Coalition-Connect Humanity expresses support for the Brownsville proposal enthusiastically and without reservation. Support of this well-conceived project represents support for the 2025 RGV Broadband and Digital Opportunity Plan that has been informed by the people of the region and the guidance of the BDO. The impact will reach across sectors and far beyond Brownsville and Cameron County.
The Coalition commits to assisting Brownsville in measuring the economic and social impact across the ecosystem—and to sharing the model of success across Texas and the nation. Please don’t hesitate to call if you need more information, 512-731-7223, jordana@connecthumanity.fund.
Sincerely,
Jordana Barton-Garcia
Director
Rio Grande Valley Broadband Coalition
Editor’s Note: The above letter was penned by Jordana Barton-Garcia, director of the Rio Grande Valley Broadband Coalition, in support of the City of Brownsville’s application for funding under the Texas Broadband Development Office’s Texas Middle Mile program.
