Many Dallas families still don’t have reliable internet. Here are some possible solutions - The Dallas Morning News

Thousands of Dallas students still don’t have access to reliable internet even after a year-and-a-half of many children depending on online connections to keep learning.

Dallas ISD turned to wireless hotspots for expanded broadband access in the early months of the pandemic, but they were often unreliable and became expensive as time went on.

Now the district is exploring two potential solutions as a more permanent fix to the digital gulf that has plagued Dallas since the internet was invented.

DISD officials could expand infrastructure such as cell phone towers throughout the district to broaden the reach of existing Wi-Fi networks and use federal money to bulk-buy internet subscriptions for families in need.

Now is the time to push for greater access, said Joanne Hovis, president of CTC Technology & Energy. Hovis’ company is helping DISD and the city craft broadband expansion plans.

“In all the years that the commercial internet has existed, I don’t think there’s ever been an opportunity quite like this to address broadband and digital equity issues with public funds,” Hovis said.

Public officials across Texas say they’re committed to better access. A new law requiring the state to craft a plan to expand broadband access and create an office to oversee the work passed with widespread approval from Republicans and Democrats in the last legislative session.

The federal government also recently approved large pots of money for local governments to pull down to expand internet access.

Dallas ISD officials hope to leverage these developments so every student has reliable connectivity at school and home, said Jack Kelanic, Dallas ISD chief technology officer.

The city is on board with $40 million tentatively set aside to help.

The goal is “pretty broad and audacious and simple: that all Dallas residents have access to high-speed internet in their homes,” said Liz Cedillo-Pereira, the city’s chief of equity and inclusion.

Lack of access

Three out of every 10 Dallas County homes don’t have access to the 2010 standard of broadband, a recent survey revealed.

Neighborhoods with the least access — because of cost or insufficient infrastructure — are often in the poorest areas of Dallas, near the southern boundary of the school district.

“While there is internet access in almost all households, in many the service is not adequate to meet the needs of students for purposes of distance learning but also for homework,” Hovis said. “The lack of service frequently aligns with household income.”

A CTC study showed that the northern parts of Dallas often have more options on how to access the internet — via cable, fiber, or DSL — whereas some southern parts of Dallas tend to only have access to fixed internet.

Southern Dallas also tends to have slower speeds, which matters because sometimes homework or school applications require faster connections. And slower internet can be detrimental for students attempting to log online for additional help with schoolwork.

Internet providers are private companies and tend to invest in areas with greater population density and higher income levels, leaving low-income families in remote areas with few options.

Leveraging federal funds

Dallas ISD could use federal money to buy bulk internet subscriptions and then offer the services for free to families who can’t otherwise afford it, CTC recommended.

But that solution would likely be short-term, lasting for a few years until the federal aid runs out.

At first, DISD trustee Dustin Marshall was skeptical of the plan, suggesting it created a moral hazard that snubbed families using their own money to pay for services. But after he learned that DISD wouldn’t be paying for the subscriptions with district funds, he was supportive.

The bulk-buy plan allows the district to move quickly to expand access while other long-term options to expand infrastructure unfold, Kelanic noted.

“It’s quick, it’s easy, [and] that service already exists,” Kelanic said. “We don’t have to build anything, and there is federal money in this moment available to offset 100% of that cost. That’s hard to overlook.”

But the subscription model has its limits. In areas where existing infrastructure doesn’t reach homes, a subscription wouldn’t make a difference.

A long-term solution?

A more ambitious plan would place internet towers on the rooftops of schools so that Wi-Fi could be broadcast into nearby neighborhoods and homes.

DISD is operating a pilot program within the Lincoln and Roosevelt high school feeder patterns. Placing antennas throughout the area on district-owned buildings could serve up to 80% of DISD families.

But the cost of building out DISD’s internet antennas would be more substantial and require a longer term investment as technologies change.

“It’s telling that our technologies are 3G, 4G, 5G,” said Andrew Afflerbach, CTC’s CEO and chief technology officer. “What that means is there’s always a G coming, and you’re always facing a technological change.”

The technology typically has a six- or seven-year lifespan until it becomes obsolete, Afflerbach suggested.

“I like using the commercial providers in the short term to replace the hotspots and to get immediate connections,” DISD trustee Dan Micciche said. “Longterm, I like the rooftop solutions with one reservation.” Investing in the infrastructure plan could require the district to commit to including the expenses in a bond package every few years, he said.

But it could also offer the opportunity for DISD to make some money, Marshall said, wondering if the district could sell space on towers to commercial internet providers.

Trustees would likely have to approve such an infrastructure plan at a future board meeting, although several board members seemed to support the idea.

The city is also considering its own infrastructure expansion that would build a 100-mile fiber system and is exploring how it could use the rooftops of public buildings for its own network, Cedillo-Pereira said.

The city and district expect to publish a draft plan by mid-July that will guide their efforts.

The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.

The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from The Beck Group, Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, The Meadows Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University and Todd A. Williams Family Foundation. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.

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