# Fiber Optic Engineering Texas | Draftech International > OSP fiber engineering in Texas: BEAD subgrantee design, Oncor and AEP make-ready, TxDOT permitting, FTTH design, pole loading, and field survey statewide. **URL:** https://draftech.com/states/fiber-optic-engineering-texas.html **Canonical:** https://draftech.com/states/fiber-optic-engineering-texas.html **Company:** Draftech International, LLC **Service Area:** Texas — all regions and counties **Contact:** info@draftech.com | 305-306-7406 --- ## Overview Texas is the largest BEAD market in the nation, with $3.3 billion in federal funding and an additional $1.5 billion state match program driving fiber construction across terrain that ranges from Gulf Coast flatlands to Hill Country limestone to high-desert West Texas. Draftech engineers design for all of it. Texas received $3.3 billion in BEAD funding — more than any other state — administered by the Texas Broadband Development Office. The Final Proposal was approved by NTIA on December 4, 2025. Twenty-two awardees are building fiber and other broadband infrastructure to serve more than 240,000 broadband serviceable locations, with construction expected to mobilize in Summer 2026. Separately, Texas voters approved $1.5 billion through the Texas Match Assistance Program (TMAP), making the combined state and federal broadband investment the most significant OSP construction program in Texas history. Fifty-one percent of Texas BEAD locations are designated for fiber construction. At this scale — multi-county build territories, massive geographic diversity, and awardees ranging from established regional carriers to smaller rural ISPs — the engineering workload is substantial. Design packages need to be coordinated across TxDOT district offices, multiple investor-owned utility territories, hundreds of rural electric cooperatives, and an extensive BNSF and Union Pacific railroad network. Getting construction to ground requires precision in how permitting, make-ready, and design work are staged and resourced. ## Services - Texas Fiber Engineering ## Key Topics ### Texas BEAD: The Largest Fiber Program in the Country Texas received $3.3 billion in BEAD funding — more than any other state — administered by the Texas Broadband Development Office. The Final Proposal was approved by NTIA on December 4, 2025. Twenty-two awardees are building fiber and other broadband infrastructure to serve more than 240,000 broadband serviceable locations, with construction expected to mobilize in Summer 2026. Separately, Texas vo ### Texas Terrain: Six Construction Environments, Six Engineering Approaches Texas's geographic scale means the construction method and design approach that works in one region is often unsuitable in another. Understanding these regional differences is fundamental to producing bore designs, aerial route layouts, and underground route sheets that will actually survive construction review and execute in the field. The Gulf Coast and South Texas flatlands — from Corpus Christ ### Make-Ready Engineering for Oncor, AEP Texas, CenterPoint, and Rural Co-ops Texas's utility landscape is defined by three major investor-owned utilities and an extensive rural co-op presence. Oncor covers North and West Texas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth metro, Waco, Lubbock, and large portions of the Permian Basin corridor. AEP Texas covers South and West Texas, including Laredo, Corpus Christi, Abilene, and the Rio Grande Valley. CenterPoint Energy covers the Housto ### TxDOT Permitting and Railroad Crossing Coordination Any fiber project in Texas that crosses or parallels a state highway requires a permit under TxDOT's Utility Accommodation Policy, coordinated through one of TxDOT's 25 district offices. For bore crossings of state highways, TxDOT typically requires cased installation with grouted annular space, specific depth minimums below pavement subgrade, and bore path verification documentation. Our permitti ### FTTH Design at Texas Scale Texas BEAD awardees serving multi-county build territories face an FTTH design challenge that is less about individual network topology and more about managing design throughput across hundreds of route miles and thousands of BSLs simultaneously. HLD work — establishing hub site locations, PON architecture, fiber route corridors, and splitter placement — must be completed before make-ready and per ## Frequently Asked Questions **How do you handle hard rock HDD design in the Texas Hill Country?** The Edwards Plateau and Hill Country formation — covering Kerr, Gillespie, Bandera, Real, and surrounding counties — is underlaid by Edwards Limestone, one of the harder formation types in the continental U.S. for horizontal directional drilling. Our engineers design Hill Country bore packages with **What does make-ready engineering look like for Oncor and AEP Texas poles?** Oncor's territory covers North and West Texas including the Dallas-Fort Worth metro and much of the Permian Basin corridor. AEP Texas covers South and West Texas including Laredo, Corpus Christi, and the Rio Grande Valley. Both utilities require NJUNS-based attachment applications with field-verifie **How do you manage TxDOT permitting for fiber projects crossing Texas state highways?** TxDOT right-of-way permits are required for any utility crossing or parallel installation within state highway corridors. Texas has 25 TxDOT districts, each with variation in submission requirements and review timelines. For major highway crossings, TxDOT typically requires bore-under installation w --- ## Internal Links - [Fiber Optic Engineering Services](https://draftech.com/services/fiber-optic-engineering.html) - [OSP Engineering](https://draftech.com/services/osp-engineering.html) - [Make-Ready Engineering](https://draftech.com/services/make-ready-engineering.html) - [FTTH Design](https://draftech.com/services/ftth-design.html) - [Pole Loading Analysis](https://draftech.com/services/pole-loading-analysis.html) - [About Draftech International](https://draftech.com/about.html) - [Contact Us](https://draftech.com/contact.html) --- *Draftech International, LLC | MBE-Certified | 600+ Engineers | 44,000+ miles | 2.6M+ addresses | All 48 continental U.S. states*