East Texas Gets Digital Upgrade with Spectrum Broadband Expansion

In the vast expanse of East Texas, from wide-open fields to swampy marshes, Spectrum is undertaking a massive expansion to deliver high-speed broadband to communities across the region. Populated by remote towns and rural ranches, residents have historically not had access to dependable broadband.

By 2025, Spectrum’s subsidized Rural Construction Initiative is expected to connect an FCC-estimated 133,000 homes and small businesses in Texas, requiring some 14,000 miles of new fiber.

“Our Spectrum teams are doing something truly unprecedented in the industry,” said Mike Matson, Spectrum’s Regional Vice President, Texas-Louisiana. “We are bringing broadband to so many underserved parts of the country, which includes East Texas. Our work is so comprehensive in scale, that we had to grow our Texas team by hundreds of employees to include additional construction crews, field technicians and small and medium business representatives to conduct outreach in the community.“

Previously, many of these communities had to rely on satellite services and other unreliable connections that would limit what they could access online. Slow upload and download speeds would turn a short task to hours, limiting how East Texans used the internet.

Reliable Broadband Speeds Keep BBQ Business Fired Up

Fireside BBQ, one of the many rural businesses connected since the project began, has elevated its business since being activated.

Owner Glenn Northfleet opened the barbecue restaurant in 2015 in Birthright, Texas, growing it from a roadside canopy to what is now a WiFi-connected kitchen that serves award-winning smoked meats.  His WiFi connection dropped frequently with his previous provider, but he no longer has that problem. Now a Spectrum Business customer, he enjoys the Ultra Internet package along with Business WiFi.

“The reality today is that all businesses need a dependable internet connection to keep their day-to-day operations going,” said Glenn. “My registers, security system, menu board, and even my meat thermometers are connected to the internet via WiFi. If I can’t connect to my thermometers, there’s a chance I could overcook the briskets and end up losing thousands of dollars.”

Connecting Life on the Ranch

The news of Spectrum’s expansion came as a sigh of relief for staff at High Lonesome Ranch in Eustace, Texas, who manage hundreds of cattle. Open since 1983, much of the ranch business takes place in person at the beef shop, 10 miles away. The lack of a reliable connection required additional physical trips into town for what should have been a click away.

“We were driving to the beef shop 10 miles just to check on inventory,” said Larry Tiner, Manager at High Lonesome Ranch. “Now we're hooked up through WiFi and can do it real time through a laptop or a phone.”

Now, the ranch, another Spectrum Business customer, has Gig Internet, along with Static IP and Business WiFi, to bring unprecedented efficiency to their business.

“After getting connected to Spectrum’s reliable services we can run our day-to-day administrative operations from the ranch and get back all those hours of driving back and forth every week,” said Larry.

Spectrum crews have heard from many small businesses like Fireside BBQ and High Lonesome Ranch, and Mike expects the completion of the project to improve life in the region.

“For many rural communities and residents, access to our services is a game changer,” said Mike. “People can work or study remotely, obtain access to telemedicine, and simply stay connected in a modern way.”

Learn more about Charter’s commitment to expanding broadband access here.