High-Speed Internet FAQ

While some construction efforts are ongoing, United has significantly slowed down its major buildout of the fiber network. This follows a collective decision by the Department of Commerce (DOC) and the Texas Broadband Development Office (BDO) not to award United federal grant funding through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) BEAD Program.  

Q: What is BEAD? 
A: BEAD stands for Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment and is a $42.5 billion federal grant program administered by the DOC’s NTIA. Under this federal program, the DOC distributes funding to eligible U.S. states and territories, which then administer and facilitate the flow of funding to grant award winners. United was not awarded a BEAD grant. 

Q: Who won BEAD funding in United’s territory from which United members can expect high-speed internet service? 
A: In United’s service footprint, two internet service providers were awarded BEAD funding for different areas. Those providers are Nextlink (aka AMG) and Starlink. Under the terms of their grant agreements, BEAD recipients Nextlink and Starlink are expected to be required to meet buildout and service requirements (e.g., speed and coverage standards), but timelines vary by state and by project.  

Q: So I will still get access to high-speed internet? 
A: Yes—federal funding ensures that at least one of those providers will build a high-speed internet service network in your area, even though it will not be us. 

Q: Do you know which provider is required to serve my location? 
A: The Texas BDO has released a map of BEAD award winners. The map allows users to view project areas by county, state house district and state senate district. The majority of the BEAD Award area within United’s footprint has been awarded to Nextlink, and a smaller piece to Starlink, according to the map. Members in those areas should reach out to those entities to learn when they can expect their service to be available. The BDO map can be accessed at: BEAD Award Map. 

Q: Why can’t you just continue building anyway? 
A: The cost of rural fiber optic construction is extremely high. Competing with BEAD-grant funded providers would result in unsustainable costs and redundant (or duplicated) infrastructure. Because of these factors, continuing our buildout would not be financially responsible and would duplicate infrastructure that will already be heavily funded through BEAD awards. 

Q: If I have United’s service, will my current internet service change? 
A: No. Your existing service remains in place. This announcement only affects future construction. 

Q: Could you accelerate building in the future? 
A: Potentially. We continue to monitor funding opportunities and market conditions. If circumstances change, we may revisit expansion options. 

Q: Does this affect the timeframe in which I will receive service from United if I am in an active area? 
A: No. This will not affect any areas where United is actively serving members.  

United's responsibility is to enhance the quality of life of our members, and an affordable, reliable high-speed internet service is as important to our membership today as electricity was 80 years ago.

An estimated 87 percent of United members did not have access to affordable and/or reliable 25 Mbps high-speed internet service, according to a 2019 independent third-party business plan study. Which is why in 2019, 90 percent of United members voted “Yes” for United Cooperative Services to provide high-speed internet to its members.

Fiber is the most reliable and future-ready internet technology available today. United already has much of the necessary infrastructure in place, including poles and substations, making it well-positioned to deliver high-quality fiber service to our communities.

The primary goal of any internet service provider is to deliver information quickly, consistently, and without interruption. Fiber networks excel at this because they can handle and route enormous amounts of internet traffic while providing exceptional bandwidth and speed capabilities. As technology continues to evolve, performance factors such as latency, jitter, and error correction have become increasingly important. Fiber delivers superior performance in each of these areas, creating a better overall online experience.

United's fiber network is designed to provide best-in-class performance for every type of user. Whether you are casually browsing the web, working remotely, participating in online gaming, or operating a business that depends on a reliable connection, fiber delivers the speed and stability needed to stay connected. Because fiber optic cables are non-conductive, they are less susceptible to many of the issues that can affect copper and wireless networks. This makes United's network highly resilient and better able to withstand disruptions, helping ensure dependable service when subscribers need it most.

United’s project plan is to serve the unserved and underserved to ensure that members who lack access to quality internet will no longer be left unconnected.  Since the inception of United’s internet project, other internet service providers have received state or federal grant funding to provide internet service to areas within United’s footprint.  Those companies receiving funding have an obligation to provide quality internet.  As a fiduciary of the membership, United does not expect to overbuild any areas already slated to receive fast and reliable internet from another provider.  United’s website provides the most recent information related to construction. Please reach out to United for location specific information.  

Yes, you should allow for conduit near the electrical entrance to your home. If you have questions, or to discuss details, please:

Contact Us

We ask that all members continue to be patient, as the network involves installing thousands of miles of fiber-optic cable along United's existing electrical path (which took 80 years to build to today's current service area). The original 5-year project plan included a mix of both fiber and fixed wireless. Fixed wireless proved to not be a viable long-term solution for our membership, as it comes with a host of issues, including a short life-cycle – something we did not find beneficial or valuable when delivering a state-of-the-art network.This adjustment has extended the fiber build out plan by a few years, however, we are confident this pivot will provide members with the best internet and experience for decades. United has passed approximately 45,000 homes and businesses to date. This number grows each month and there are no plans to slow down until complete.

The answer depends on how far apart the buildings are, but it is possible one modem will work. Using a WiFi booster or running an Ethernet cable between the two buildings could allow one connection to serve multiple buildings.

Yes. The internet and VoIP telephone service we provide does require electricity.

United provides an extremely reliable network to its subscribers. Four unique internet sources connect at the headends in Burleson and Stephenville. Those four separate head-end connections not only provide redundancies for improved reliability, they also are Tier 1 ISP internet connections (better quality fiber pipelines) provided from top internet service providers.

We suggest you cancel your current service after a United technician has come into your home to complete and test your connection. Our process installs a fiber drop on the outside of your home about 1-2 months prior to a live connection, so you will not want to cancel too soon and risk having no service.

Electric cooperatives across the United States are stepping in to provide their members high-speed internet service where no other providers will. Currently, about 90 electric cooperatives across the U.S. (about 11 percent) provide high-speed internet service to their members. About 200 more electric cooperatives are studying the viability of providing such a service to their members.

The estimated total cost of the project, to deliver a targeted fiber optic download speed of 100 Mbps or greater to the majority of members in United's territory, is near $200 million.

No. Texas Senate Bill 14, passed in 2019, stipulates that rates charged for electric service cannot be used to recover broadband (fiber) service costs. Therefore, the fiber project is not permitted to negatively affect electric bills for cooperatives like United that provide high-speed internet service.