Gov. Perry Announces High-Speed Internet Headed to Rural Texas

Gov. Perry Announces High-Speed Internet Headed to Rural Texas

ROBY - Gov. Rick Perry today visited the west Texas city of Roby to kickoff of a multi-city tour to announce the expansion of high-speed internet service to 71 of the smallest rural communities in Texas. The expansion is a direct result of telecommunications reform legislation signed into law by the governor in 2005.

"By introducing competition to video and telecommunications, we are opening the door to new investments, new services and new opportunities," Perry said. "Now rural Texans will be connected to the entire world, and the nerve center of information - the Internet - in ways never experienced before."

In his 2005 State of the State speech, Perry had called for modernization of telecommunications laws so they reflect today's technologies and allow for greater economic opportunity, and last year he signed into law Senate Bill 5. The new law overhauled the telecommunications industry, encouraged competition in the local cable market, and made Texas a national leader in telecommunications innovations such as offering broadband over power lines, as well as cable and voice over internet protocol.

When AT&T completes the rollout by the end of this year, all of AT&T's central offices across Texas will be DSL capable and bring high-speed internet access to the most remote communities of Texas.

"For too long rural Texans have migrated from small communities to big cities and left behind a better quality of life and their roots because opportunities were too limited. With DSL, the possibilities are limitless," Perry said. "Small businesses will save time and money with faster Internet connections, a rancher can look at photos of livestock on-line, grandparents can keep up with the grandchildren better, and e-mails containing critical information or even video will download in seconds instead of minutes or hours."

Perry described the telecommunications investment as an important part of the state's broader economic development efforts, which have led to 330,000 new jobs in Texas in less than three years, a business climate that has been ranked the best in the nation, and an economy that has generated a multi-billion surplus.

"When the youngest generation of Texans joins the workforce, they can know Texas is a state making the right investments to create the best opportunities for them," Perry said. "And some of those opportunities will be right where they grew up, in small towns like Roby and Lindale, because of innovations in the marketplace made possible by wise government policies."

The Governor will also visit the rural cities of New Deal, Odessa, Moody, Lindale, Sabine and Flatonia this week, which are among the communities to receive expanded service. A complete list of the 71 communities can be found below:

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