The state of Texas has awarded Lyte Fiber LLC $57.8 million to provide broadband to 6,750 unserved and underserved homes and businesses in Marion and Navarro counties. The Navarro County grant — which represents $43.3 million of the total — was a recent award.
The awards were made by the state’s Bringing Online Opportunities to Texas (BOOT) II Program, which is overseen by the Comptroller’s Broadband Development Office. The bulk of the funding will be provided by the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (CPF) and the Texas Broadband Infrastructure Fund.
Lyte Fiber, which is based in Houston, Texas, said that it will invest more than $11 million in the projects and deploy 900 miles of fiber.
“This investment in broadband expansion is not solely about laying fiber; it’s about supporting economic growth, educational opportunities, healthcare access, and an overall enhanced quality of life for Texans in rural and underserved areas,” Greg Conte, the Director of the Texas Broadband Development Office, said in a press release issued by Lyte Fiber.
“We are dedicated to ensuring that all Texans have access to the internet speeds necessary to succeed in today’s digital landscape.”
Lyte Fiber did not receive a grant in Round I, according to the Texas comptroller’s list. The Marion County award — for almost $14.5 million — and the Navarro County award now are on the list of Round II awardees. The Navarro award is a recent addition to the list; it was not on the list of awards upon which Telecompetitor reported on March 13.
At the time of the Telecompetitor report, the BOOT II awards totaled $701.9 million. They covered more than 76,000 locations in Bastrop, Burleson, Caldwell, Carson, Coleman, Colorado, Edwards, Falls, Fannin, Irion, Karnes, Kenedy, Liberty, Marion, Morris, Newton, Reagan, Roberts, Throckmorton, and Trinity counties.
Additional information about Texas broadband, including state funding resources, grants made, state-specific coverage, and more can be found on the Telecompetitor Broadband Nation webpage for the state.
