Residents from multiple colonias and community groups told the Commissioners Court that a county-supported free‑Internet service that operated during the pandemic has been disconnected and should be restored. Speakers said the loss prevents students from doing homework at home, creates travel burdens to libraries or other access points, and harms residents who lack private broadband.

"Free Internet should be a right and is a necessity," resident Laura Garcia told the court during the open‑forum comments. Multiple speakers described children doing homework outside of homes and parents who used county Wi‑Fi to finish GED programs or access medical and social services.

Tanya Chavez of LUPE (La Unión del Pueblo Entero) urged the court to release maps and plans identifying where public Wi‑Fi had been provided and called for continued partnership with local providers and advocacy for congressional funding. She said the county’s pandemic-era investment directly helped students during school closures.

Commissioner Eric Cantu responded that the county’s original broadband work was funded using federal COVID relief dollars, and he said repeatedly that Hidalgo County currently lacks explicit statutory authority to operate an Internet service. "The issue is that a county doesn't have the authority to provide Internet," he told speakers, noting that COVID funds temporarily allowed the county to deploy broadband access during the emergency but that the county cannot simply fund an ongoing public‑ISP function without state authorization or different funding mechanisms.

Court staff and commissioners discussed limited paths forward: continuing to support community resource centers (CRCs) and county-operated sites that can offer access, helping link residents to existing city libraries and Boys & Girls Club locations that provide Wi‑Fi, and supporting local providers' efforts to expand rural coverage. Commissioners asked staff to provide lists of service locations and to keep working with local providers and Congress members on broadband funding.

No vote was taken; the comments were part of open forum and do not carry regulatory force. Commissioners said the matter will require legal or legislative solutions if the county is to provide direct broadband service over the long term.