Rural Texas is the state’s foundation. And it’s in jeopardy.
Downtowns are deserted, hospitals are closing, teachers are leaving. Every part of life in rural Texas is harder — but it’s worth saving.
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/11/07/..._eid=6276fc82d6
BY POOJA SALHOTRA, JAYME LOZANO, NIC GARCIA AND ALLISON P. ERICKSON NOV. 7, 2022 Texas news.

Pastor Alan Pollard often looks out the front window of his church and sees a bulky fixture he once thought could help him spread his gospel far and wide.

Instead, the AT&T fiber box has become a daily reminder of the church’s inability to access broadband.

“The connection is so bad that it interrupts the service,” said Pollard, who this year became pastor of Bethany Word of Life Tabernacle in Tyler, one of the largest cities in East Texas. “It’s hindering us from getting the message of God out to the world.”

Pollard is one of many Texans frustrated at the lack of high-speed internet access. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2.8 million Texas households lack broadband access. The problem disproportionately impacts rural communities, where a low population density dissuades private companies from setting up broadband infrastructure.

In the cluster of counties of northeast Texas where Pollard lives and works, less than two thirds of households have high-speed broadband, according to the state’s broadband development office, and those who do have access pay high prices. Residents of Deep East Texas, which includes 11 rural counties such as Angelina and Newton, pay on average four times more for internet services compared with those in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, according to a 2019 analysis by Ericsson.

That rural Texas is largely unable to connect with the rest of the world by high-speed internet is illustrative of a long-standing divide that now threatens the very way of life that is foundational to the state as a whole.

The Texas Tribune will host a Nov. 17-18 event in Lubbock to examine issues including broadband access, economic development, education and health care.

Rural Texas, along with the food, fiber and other manufacturing goods it exports, generated more than $21.2 billion for the state’s economy in 2019, according to the Texas Almanac. Cattle and cotton are the state’s leading exports. Along with oil and gas, tourism, and the public sector, the rural economy is a sizable chunk of the Texas economy.

Put another way: Rural Texas helps put the food on your plate, the clothes on your back and the gas in your car. Oh, and some of the coolest and most beautiful places in Texas couldn’t be farther from downtown Dallas or Houston.

“The state of Texas needs rural,” said Kara Mayfield, executive director of the Association of Rural Communities in Texas. The association supports rural communities with education and partnerships among rural counties, cities and economic development groups. It also advocates for its members at the Legislature.

“The whole state suffers if rural Texas disappears," Mayfield said. "We’ll be relying on other states or foreign entities to fill the void that used to be filed by our very own Texans.”

The global demand for crops — especially cotton — and beef is expected to increase between now and 2031-- excerpt, rest at link above --


Good grief, I hope they don't try to save us!

Yes, that's true, Isailedaway.