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Texas won federal approval Tuesday to move forward with its plan to improve high-speed Internet access for the estimated 7 million residents who are not connected.

The National Telecommunication and Information Administration, the federal agency that advises the president on telecommunications policy issues, approved Texas’ plan to use about $3.3 in federal money, as part of the Broadband Equity program, Access and Deployment, or BEAD.

The $42.45 billion package is part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021. The NTIA announced Tuesday that proposals for how the money would be used have now been approved in every state, territory and district of Columbia.

Texas received the most money of any state. Texas first submitted its plan in December 2023.

At the same time, the state has allocated more than $1 billion in state and federal taxes for broadband investments.

“The BEAD program has taken a long time,” said Greg Conte, director of the Texas Broadband Development Office. “But what we developed and approved this morning shows how methodically we are approaching this.”

The office announced grant awards for its Bringing Online Opportunities to Texas, or BOOT, program earlier this year. On Monday, candidates in 15 counties received $580 million to connect 80,000 sites.

Texas won’t start spending the $3 billion right away. First, Internet service providers, nonprofit organizations, and local and tribal governments have the ability to challenge federal maps showing where an Internet connection is needed.

These maps will help determine where the billions will be spent.

There are likely to be several challenges as service providers and local authorities have interviewed the accuracy of the map.

“We want to make sure that the data provided to us by the federal government is accurate and up to date,” Conte said.

In a statement, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo praised the BDO, saying, “We look forward to working with you to ensure everyone in the state is connected.”

THE BEAD Challenge Process will open from December 3 to 17.