BROWNSVILLE, Texas - At a recent ceremony at the Cameron County courthouse, County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr., and VTX1 CEO Patrick McDonnell signed an MOU to bridge the digital divide that exists in the county by expanding broadband services

At the signing ceremony, Cameron County leaders were asked why those chose to partner with VTX1 rather than another internet service provider. The other ISPs that made a bid for the project were AT&T, Charter Communications, and SmartCom.

In answer that same question - why partner with VTX1 - Cameron County Judge Treviño said: “I think the one of the overriding factors was the fact that they (VTX1) were not requesting nor requiring that the county foot the bill. Some of the other proposals we looked at wanted quite a bit of money from the county. Not that that was the only determining factor.”

Another reason, Treviño said, was the fact that VTX1 is a local cooperative, based in Raymondville.

“They have been very aggressive in helping to provide services for those most underserved areas. I mean, they're based in Willacy and they're having good success. And I know that they're utilizing up to date technology. So to us, it just made it made sense (to choose VTX1).”

Here is an in-depth audio interview with Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño about the new Cameron County-VTX1 partnership. It is conducted by Rio Grande Guardian editor Steve Taylor.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.