BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The Rio Grande Valley Broadband Coalition has praised the City of Brownsville for securing $21.9 million from the Texas Broadband Development Office (BDO) for its blazing-fast fiber internet service.
BDO, which is administered through the Texas Comptroller’s Office, awarded more than $113 million in grants under the Texas Middle Mile program. The program aims to expand broadband availability, strengthen network resiliency, enhance affordability, and support public safety and emergency preparedness.
Brownsville’s grant was the second highest awarded. The total cost of Brownsville's middle mile project is $23,426,016. It has been awarded $21,926,016 by BDO. This represents around 93.6 percent of the total cost. The funding will allow it to add another 131 miles of fiber in Cameron County.
“Huge congratulations to the Honorable Mayor John Cowen, CIO Jorge Cardenas, and team at the City of Brownsville, for the incredible award of $21.9 million from the Texas Broadband Development Office… for your TX Middle-Mile infrastructure grant,” said RGV Broadband Coalition Director Jordana Barton-Garcia and Program Manager Ricardo Saenz
“And, cheers to coalition member, Rene Gonzalez and team at APEX.”
Barton-Garcia and Saenz said the new fiber expansion “will almost double your current fiber rings, and will positively impact the City, Cameron County, and the entire RGV and greater border region.”
“We have so much to celebrate in the RGV,” Barton-Garcia and Saenz added.
The RGG Business Journal recently secured an exclusive interview with Jorge Cardenas, chief information officer for the City of Brownsville, about his city’s blazing fast internet service. The project is a public-private partnership with Omni Fiber adding what is known as the last mile.
“The service can go from 200, actually 100 megabits per second and it could go as high as 100 gigabits," Cardenas said. "The typical home... is a family of say six people, you don't need internet faster than 50 megabits per second up and down. Download and upload. That's more than enough to run your cell phones, your TV. But a business nowadays needs at least 10 GBs of bandwidth and as the time goes by is going to go to 25, 50 and 100.”
Cardenas also spoke about the construction going into the service.
"It was completed almost two years ago and now we are bringing the fiber to the homes...Omni (Fiber) is bringing that fiber to the home so that the citizens, the residents of Brownsville can get faster and more reliable connectivity and cheaper."
Click here to watch the interview with Cardenas.
In a press release issued via the Comptroller’s Office, BDO announced it was awarding more than $113 million in grants under the Texas Middle Mile (TMM) Program. The BDO said the awards “represent a major investment in strengthening the broadband backbone that supports connectivity across Texas. This will help advance the state’s goal of expanding reliable, high‑speed internet access to all Texans.”
The press release points out that the Texas Legislature allocated $1.5 billion to the Broadband Infrastructure Fund in 2023 to support major broadband expansion initiatives statewide. From this funding, up to $200 million was dedicated to the TMM Program, which focuses on expanding critical middle‑mile infrastructure that connects backbone networks to last‑mile providers.
The TMM Program aims to:
• Expand broadband availability by addressing infrastructure gaps in rural and underserved regions to support last‑mile broadband deployment and improve service options for Texas communities.
• Strengthen network resiliency by investing in scalable and future‑proofed infrastructure designed to withstand weather‑related and environmental risks, ensuring continuous and stable service.
• Enhance affordability by encouraging open‑access, cost‑efficient networks that foster competition among providers and create long‑term affordability for consumers.
• Support public safety and emergency preparedness by expanding infrastructure that can support early flood‑warning systems, improve emergency communications and enhance statewide disaster resiliency.
“Middle mile infrastructure plays a foundational role in enabling high‑capacity, high‑speed connectivity and ensuring network resiliency. The awarded projects will strengthen Texas’ statewide broadband foundation and further ensure all Texans have access to high-speed internet,” BDO stated.
Selected awardees include:
The BDO added: “Awarded entities will proceed to finalize grant agreements and initiate project activities in accordance with program requirements. Awardees are expected to pursue and secure all necessary permits before beginning their work. All projects must be completed and fully operational no later than Dec. 31, 2028. The BDO will not issue additional awards under the current Notice of Funds Available (NOFA). Funds originally allocated for the NOFA that were not awarded through the TMM Program will be repurposed for future broadband initiatives. Following the execution of grant agreements, the BDO will post additional project details. We extend our thanks to all applicants for their efforts to improve broadband connectivity across Texas. The awarded projects mark a significant step toward a more resilient and better-connected future for the state.”
