Paxton: Sprint-T-Mobile merger will benefit all of Texas – San Antonio Express-News

The United States is at the forefront of an economic and technological revolution driven by 5G (fifth-generation) cellular technology, which is poised to have a profound effect on health care, agriculture, education and American businesses of all sizes transforming American life as we know it

While the future has enormous potential, many states like Texas have a digital divide, and rural communities suffer most. According to the Federal Communications Commission, in 2018 only 69 percent of rural Americans had access to both 4G Long Term Evolution, or LTE, mobile services and broadband-speed service, compared with about 98 percent of urban Americans. With access to high-speed internet connectivity ubiquitous in urban areas, its imperative we increase it in rural ones.

When the 2018 merger between Sprint and T-Mobile was announced and touted Americas first nationwide 5G network, I had serious concerns about what this would mean for Texans. This is why I initially joined state attorneys general from 13 other states and the District of Columbia to challenge the merger. While I had zero doubt about the potential for 5G to change American life for the better, I was deeply concerned that working Texans, especially in rural communities, would be left behind as Americans in urban centers took a massive leap forward.

Like many states across the country, Texas has real unmet needs, and 5G represents our best shot at addressing them. That is why I engaged with T-Mobile and obtained results that satisfied my concerns about the merger. My office fought for and secured a number of important commitments from T-Mobile ensuring all Texans will have the opportunity to benefit from 5G technology, including affordable, high-quality wireless communications services and new innovations that will have the power to transform our growing economy.

The commitments we fought for position Texas at the center of the 5G revolution by requiring T-Mobile to build out a high-quality 5G network throughout Texas, including in rural communities, over the next six years. It also prevents the newly combined company from increasing prices for wireless services on Texans for five years after the merger is complete. Im also pleased that the agreement ensures that Texans currently employed by Sprint and T-Mobile will have substantially similar employment with the combined company.

The 3 million Texans living in rural areas face challenges every day their fellow Texans in urban areas could not imagine, including a lack of access to in-person health care and educational resources like the internet, as well as significant limitations on agriculture and business. These challenges are not unique to Texas, and they affect the 46 million Americans living in rural areas.

How can 5G help? Lets start with health care. Rural areas in Texas are especially underserved even compared with other rural areas across the country. According to the State Office of Rural Health, 64 Texas counties lack a hospital and 25 dont have a single primary care physician. Now, 5G will make telemedicine the use of online disease-management services, electronic health records, home monitoring and other services a real possibility, bringing health care to Texans who cant easily access a hospital or other facility.

A 2019 U.S. Department of Agriculture report on farm technology found a quarter of Texas nearly 247,000 farms have no internet. USDA estimated that adequate broadband infrastructure and other digital technologies in agriculture could add from $47 billion to $65 billion annually to the U.S. economy. High-quality 5G infrastructure will allow Texas farms to take advantage of technology to make farming more efficient, producing higher yields and higher profits.

Also, 5G has the potential to transform education in our state, bringing new tools into classrooms and leveling the playing field for students in rural areas. Texas has more schools in rural areas than any other state, and 5G infrastructure will give rural students access to the same learning resources as their urban counterparts. It will also allow for more connectivity and technology in our classrooms, making the vision of the school of the future a reality today.

As home to the second-largest economy in the United States, it is imperative we take the necessary steps to ensure Texas businesses of all sizes have access to the resources and technology to keep the Lone Star State competitive here in the United States and around the world. The commitments Texas obtained from T-Mobile will ensure all Texans from Amarillo to Brownsville, El Paso to Longview and everywhere in between have access to Americas first nationwide 5G network, and we will cement Texas position as a leading economic force at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

I am more convinced than ever the merger will support 5G deployment across America, and I urge my state counterparts to consider what this means for their rural communities. It will deliver critical benefits. Our future will be better with it.

Ken Paxton is the attorney general of Texas.

Read the original post:
Paxton: Sprint-T-Mobile merger will benefit all of Texas - San Antonio Express-News