Technology
Cable
Cable enables broadband connections through the same coaxial cables that deliver pictures and sounds to your TV.
Broadband basics
What is broadband?
Broadband is a highly advanced means of transmitting data that delivers seamless, high-speed internet access. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defines broadband as an internet connection with a minimum download speed of 100 Mbps and an upload speed of 20 Mbps. Most experts agree that 200 Mbps is a more realistic minimum to meet the needs of most consumers today, given the rapid evolution of devices in our homes, schools, and offices.
Definition
FCC minimum
100/20
Mbps down / up
BEAD threshold
100/20
Mbps down / up
Modern home
200
Mbps recommended
The technology mix
No single technology covers a state this big.
Texas takes a mix of cable, fiber, wireless, and satellite to reach every household, business, farm, and ranch in the state.
Technology
Fiber
Fiber technology uses cables made of thin glass or plastic strands to transmit data as light signals.
Technology
Mobile & Fixed Wireless
Mobile wireless connects consumers' devices to a local internet service via short-range wireless technology. Fixed wireless uses longer-range directional equipment to support service in remote or more sparsely populated areas.
Technology
Satellite
Satellite broadband beams internet from space to an antenna at a consumer's location, bypassing the need for physical underground cables. It is a connectivity solution for consumers everywhere, including rural or remote areas where fiber, cable, or other networks are unavailable.
Use the language of the work.
Broadband is engineered, financed, mapped, permitted, installed, and maintained. A short reference for the terms you'll see across this site and across BDO, FCC, and Capitol filings.
Glossary · A011 entries
- AG
- Access alone is not enough. Texans also need affordability, devices, digital skills, and support to use what's built.
- BDC
- The FCC program that gathers location-level service availability from internet providers and powers the National Broadband Map.
- BDO
- The Texas state agency housed under the Comptroller of Public Accounts responsible for broadband planning, mapping, and administering BEAD and other broadband funds within Texas.
- BEAD
- The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program is a federal grant initiative dedicated to expanding high-speed internet to consumers in underserved areas nationwide.
- BSL
- An address — home, business, or institution — where mass-market broadband internet service can be installed.
- CAI
- Schools, libraries, health-care facilities, public-safety locations, and other community hubs that anchor a network.
- FCC
- The federal agency that regulates interstate communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable — including the nation's broadband policies, speed definitions, and data-collection programs.
- LM
- The connection from the network to homes, businesses, and community institutions.
- Mbps
- A standard unit of measurement for the speed of an internet connection.
- MM
- Infrastructure that connects local networks to the internet backbone. The long-haul layer most people never see.
- MR
- The work needed to prepare a pole or other infrastructure for a new broadband attachment.
Adoption gap
Broadband Data Collection
Broadband Development Office
Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program
Broadband Serviceable Location
Community Anchor Institution
Federal Communications Commission
Last mile
Megabits per second
Middle mile
Make-ready
Related
Keep reading
Benefits
Why broadband matters
How connectivity drives the Texas economy, workforce, schools, and healthcare.
Issues
Policy priorities
The state and federal files that decide how fast Texas gets connected.
Resources
Research and references
State and federal data, allied research, and TBBA-published material.
The policy framework behind broadband in Texas.
An overview of the issues that shape how broadband expands across the state.