Bexar County Commissioners Court gave staff the OK this week to amend the county's existing contract with cable and internet provider Spectrum to extend digital access to nearly 1,800 more households — up from the 8,761 households included in the initial agreement approved last month.
The bulk of these additions are in unincorporated parts of the county, spanning all four precincts. Nearly 330 are in the suburban cities of Von Ormy, Schertz and Cibolo.
If the Commissioners Court gives staff the green light to pay Spectrum to lay fiber-optic cables in these areas, "100% of households in our community" will have access to high-speed internet, said county Chief Information Officer Mark Gager. This internet service has download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second and upload speeds of at least 20 megabits per second.
These remaining connections should cost the county no more than $6.35 million, Gager said. That cost could go down as the county negotiates "the best and final offer" with the company, he said. Spectrum is expected to kick in about $4.9 million to help cover the cost of these connections.
The county will pay for this effort using federal pandemic relief dollars. It set aside $25 million of the $389 million in aid it received to close the digital divide between who has and does not have access to fast internet for work, school, telehealth appointments and other services.
The county agreed to spend $5.4 million last month on the 8,761 households in parts of southern and eastern Bexar County.
The county has until the end of 2024 to commit its federal pandemic relief dollars and until September 2026 to spend down the money.
Gager is aiming to have the court vote on the amended contract by late January.
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