Is Fiber Safe
When Will We Get Fiber
TSTCI Rural Matters Texas
About Us
West Texas Rural Telephone Cooperative was established in 1950 to provide telephone service to the rural areas in Deaf Smith, Parmer and portions of Castro and Bailey counties after the large commercial telephone companies declined to offer service to the rural areas because of the capital investment required to serve such sparsely populated rural communities, farms and ranches.
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West Texas Rural Telephone Cooperative is building Smart Communities with its Fiber Rich Network. Our fiber rich network allows WTRT to bring broadband internet to its members that is the envy of many urban counterparts.
Across the nation, businesses and residences of many urban areas that are served by large commercial communications providers can’t get basic DSL (digital subscriber line service). In contrast, WTRT has taken fiber to hospitals, city and county government locations, schools, local businesses as well as residences. This has created “smart communities” where our broadband network supports economic development and commerce, distance education options, and access to distant health care professionals.
WTRT – building Smart Communities with its Fiber Rich Network.
When will we get fiber?
This is a frequent question and the response is not an easy one.
UPDATE: Fiber Deployment for WTRT
April 2021
As discussed during our annual meetings, in previous newsletter articles, and with many of you individually, West Texas Rural Telephone Cooperative has been installing fiber-optic-cable to enable us to serve our members with broadband internet. This is a multi-year project that began in 2017 when we received additional funding from the Federal Communications Commission. This funding from the Federal Universal Service Fund was designed to help us deploy fiber in our rural service area over a 10-year period.
Our service area covers nearly 3,000 square miles, with a population of less than 1 person per square mile. Once deployed, the fiber will cover an estimated 1500 linear miles. I am excited to report that we have passed over 75% of our members in 2021 and we have installed approximately 1200 miles to date. We are scheduled to complete this project in 2022.
Fiber is the best, most reliable technology to meet the demands for bandwidth for the technologies of the future. Wireless technology does not have the bandwidth capability that is required and is not a replacement for wireline. To give a few examples:
· In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy (2012) on the East Coast, Verizon wanted to replace the communications infrastructure of Fire Island with wireless technology. The authorities said no, and Verizon was forced to replace the infrastructure with fiber.
· ATT was previously touting that wireless was the technology of the future until Google and others started installing fiber in selected neighborhoods in large cities. Now, ATT is installing fiber optic cable in cities across the nation. Other large commercial companies are doing the same.
Those large commercial companies that would have you believe that wireless technology will work for rural America, advertise they have the least dropped calls (translated: our service sucks the least). Wireless is a complement to wireline, not a replacement. Wireless will not work without wireline facilities.
We want you to know that we are making every effort to speed the deployment of fiber. And we ask for your patience as we do this. The original network that was built in the 1950s took time to build. This one will take some time as well. Looking forward to 2022!