S.B. No. 1238
 
 
 
AN ACT
relating to broadband development.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  Sections 490I.0101(a) and (b), Government Code,
are amended to read as follows:
       (a)  For purposes of this chapter, subject to Subsection (b),
"broadband service" means Internet service with the capability of
providing a:
             (1)  [a download] speed of not less than 25 megabits per
second for a download [or faster]; [and]
             (2)  [an upload] speed of not less than three megabits
per second for an upload; and
             (3)  network round-trip latency of less than or equal
to 100 milliseconds based on the 95th percentile of speed
measurements [or faster].
       (b)  If the Federal Communications Commission adopts
standards [upload or download threshold speeds] for advanced
telecommunications capability under 47 U.S.C. Section 1302 that are
different than those specified by Subsection (a), the comptroller
by rule may require Internet service to be capable of matching the
[providing download or upload speeds that match that] federal
standards [threshold] in order to qualify under this chapter as
"broadband service."
       SECTION 2.  Sections 490I.0105(a), (b), (c), (d), (f), (k),
(l), (n), (o), and (p), Government Code, are amended to read as
follows:
       (a)  The broadband development office shall create, update
annually, and publish on the comptroller's Internet website a map
classifying each broadband serviceable location [designated area]
in this state as:
             (1)  an unserved location [eligible area,] if[:
                   [(A)  fewer than 80 percent of the addresses in]
the location does not [designated area] have access to reliable
broadband service capable of providing the speeds described by
Section 490I.0101(a); [and
                   [(B)  the federal government has not awarded
funding under a competitive process to support the deployment of
broadband service to addresses in the designated area; or]
             (2)  an underserved location [ineligible area,] if the
location is not an unserved location but does not[:
                   [(A)  80 percent or more of the addresses in the
designated area] have access to reliable broadband service with the
capability of providing:
                   (A)  a speed of not less than 100 megabits per
second for a download;
                   (B)  a speed of not less than 20 megabits per
second for an upload; and
                   (C)  a network round-trip latency of less than or
equal to 100 milliseconds based on the 95th percentile of speed
measurements; or
             (3)  a served location if the location is neither an
unserved nor an underserved location [(B) the federal government
has awarded funding under a competitive process to support the
deployment of broadband service to addresses in the designated
area].
       (b)  The comptroller by rule may establish new threshold
speeds for a location to qualify as an underserved location if the
comptroller has required Internet service to be capable of matching
federal standards to qualify as broadband service under Section
490I.0101(b) [determine the scope of a designated area under
Subsection (a)].
       (c)  After creation of the initial map described in
Subsection (a), the office may evaluate the usefulness of the
standards for unserved and underserved locations [eligible and
ineligible areas] outlined in Subsection (a) and, if appropriate,
make a recommendation to the legislature to revise the standards.
       (d)  The map required by Subsection (a) must organize
broadband serviceable locations into designated areas and display
for each area:
             (1)  the number of broadband service providers that
serve the [each designated] area;
             (2)  [for each eligible area,] an indication of whether
the area has access to Internet service that is not broadband

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Chapter I, Government Code 56.021 (Chapter I, Government Code 56)
Senate Committee Report: Chapter I, Government Code 56.021 (Chapter I, Government Code 56)
Engrossed: Chapter I, Government Code 56.021 (Chapter I, Government Code 56)
House Committee Report: Chapter I, Government Code 56.021 (Chapter I, Government Code 56)
Enrolled: Chapter I, Government Code 56.021 (Chapter I, Government Code 56)