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BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A new partnership between Cameron County and VTX1 has been made official and the public venture will expand broadband service first to the underserved areas of this part of South Texas.

A joint agreement was signed on Monday, Feb. 5, by County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr., and Patrick McDonnell, the chief executive officer of the Raymondville-based cooperative.

“This is something two years ago that we probably would not be giving it a second thought,” the judge said. “But today’s technology has changed that.”

Treviño said the new partnership is designed to expand broadband services to county residents with little or no access to the Internet.

Better yet, he added, this is not costing the county a penny.

McDonnell said this partnership between the private and public entities is the right thing to do, particularly because it would benefit many people.

“We have been here since 1952,” he said during an interview before the ceremony. “We are not going anywhere.”

The company has agreed to use $10 million of its own money and assets to help fund the broadband Internet service in the most needy parts of the county. The estimated to cost for all the rural areas is more than $100 million. The remaining funds will be secured through federal grants.

The agreement also secures minimum broadband Internet speeds of 100/500 megabites per second at a cost of a $30 per price point for all new and existing VTX1 customers.

The company is not new in seeking funding for the projects it continues to undertake.

Back in 2013, the company opened its new headquarters on East Hidalgo Avenue in Raymondville in Willacy County.

The 15,000-square feet, $2.5 million building was constructed with funds from a $78 million grant/loan package VTX1 received as a stimulus project from the Obama administration.

McDonnell said VTX1’s share of the grant/loan package is done.

In that year, the company had some 8,000 subscribers, compared to about 40,000 today.

Although VTX1 is a cooperative, not a money making enterprise, the company’s potential for getting new subscribers is evident.

Orlando Quintanilla, the VTX1 chief operating officer, said Cameron County has close to 200 colonias with a combined population of 55,000 people.

Under Phase 1 of the project, the first beneficiaries will people living in Bluetown, Lozano, San Pedro and on Isla Blanca Park, South Padre Island.

“This is a fantastic day,” Quintanilla said of the partnership. “Having this new service is vital for education, for economic development and for health care.”

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