Fed Up With Slow and Spotty Internet, a Small Texas Town Built Its Own High-Speed Network

"No one wanted to run up and punch the giant," says Dwight Thomas, who runs Mont Belvieu’s municipal broadband network

By Melissa Repko - The Dallas Morning News • Published on December 22, 2019 at 8:46 pm

Dwight Thomas, a former IT consultant, is director of Mont Belvieu’s broadband and information technology services. In his role, he's become a municipal broadband evangelist. He's spread the word among city residents and met with leaders of other Texas towns. — Shaban Athuman/The Dallas Morning News

Becky McManus signed up for internet at her home, and it worked until spring, when leaves bloomed on the trees and blocked her signal.

Across town, Richard LeJeune moved into a new subdivision. His family’s only internet option was a local company with speeds so slow his wife had trouble running her online handmade jewelry store and his daughter sometimes couldn’t do her homework.

For years, residents of this fast-growing town on the outer ring of Houston complained to local leaders about slow and spotty internet. They put satellite dishes on their rooftops. They endured intermittent service and frequent outages.