BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Brownsville Mayor John Cowen, Jr., says the opening of Lit Fiber’s Demo Center in his city’s downtown is a “landmark day” for the community.

“It is a remarkable accomplishment. The city has essentially constructed its middle mile, which is 100 miles of underground fiber that will be used to leverage the last mile that Lit Communities will be running. And hopefully starting in June or July, for their first customers,” Cowen told the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service, in a video interview.

Asked how bad things were before the City of Brownsville started talks with Lit Communities, the parent company of Lit Fiber, Cowen said:

“So, about four years ago we formed an MOU (memorandum of understanding) among seven different entities in our city, including the ISD, the Port, Brownsville PUB, to determine really what the digital divide is in our community and how we can close it. So, it turns out we had been the least connected city in the United States as of 2014. I think we’re number two (least connected) in the country as of 2017. So, we’ve always been at the bottom of that list. This initiative will allow us to close that gap and provide high speed, affordable Internet service to every business and every resident in our community.”

Asked how big an impact the blazing fast, fiber-to-the-home broadband service Lit Fiber is offering will have, Cowen said:

“Well, I think it’s a game changer. I think close to 70 percent of our community lacks high speed internet connectivity. Forty-five percent don’t have any connectivity activity at all. So, I think when it comes to tele-health, working from home, kids doing their homework at home, I think it helps provide an equal playing field for everyone when it comes to competing regionally at the state level and at the federal level.”

Asked what the economic impact would be for Brownsville, Cowen said:

“I think it will create a snowball effect, right? As we become more innovative, we’ll be able to leverage our resources to really move the needle from an economic development perspective. Investors, manufacturers want to be in a community that has these resources and this infrastructure. But it speaks to our commitment to moving that forward.”

And so more businesses will look to move into Brownsville. “Absolutely,” Cowen answered.

Asked if there was anything else he would like to say, Cowen said: “I think this is just the beginning for our community as we deliver this amazing accomplishment.”

Here is the video interview:

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