Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced last week that New Mexico had received federal approval to seek $675 million in grants to expand broadband service in the state.
“This funding empowers New Mexico to bridge the digital divide and create equal opportunities across the state, especially for our rural and tribal communities,” the governor stated in a news release.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a federal agency under the Department of Commerce, cleared the way for New Mexico’s application after approving a proposal from the state under the Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment program, known as BEAD. The program allocates $42.45 billion for internet expansion nationwide.
The governor’s office said the application process will include input from local governments, tribal communities, nonprofits, internet service providers and electric cooperatives. Grant money would fund infrastructure projects delivering high-speed internet service to households with inadequate service – or none at all.
“In today’s world, high-speed internet is not a luxury but a necessity,” Drew Lovelace, acting director of the state Office of Broadband Access and Expansion, stated in the news release. “Ensuring access to broadband in rural and hard-to-reach areas means New Mexicans will gain access to essential services like Telehealth and distance learning, and communities will enjoy greater economic opportunities.”
After gathering that input, the state is expected to submit a final proposal within a year detailing how the funds would be used and who would receive them, showing how the result would deliver broadband access, of at least 100 Mbps download speed and 20 Mbps upload, to underserved areas. Final approval would come in 2025, the governor’s office said.
New Mexico reports that 16 percent of serviceable locations are unserved or underserved, including more than 70,000 locations unserved.
Infrastructure is one barrier to access. Another is affordability.
U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, in a statement, celebrated the path forward for New Mexico’s grant application, but lamented the end of the federal Affordable Connectivity Program, a pandemic-era fund that subsidized internet service for low-income households. Lacking an appropriation for additional funding, the program concluded in May.
“…the failure to extend the Affordable Connectivity Program threatens to dilute the impact of this funding,” Luján said. “It is imperative that we reinstate this vital program. While this funding represents significant progress toward 100 percent connectivity, there remains an ongoing need for next-generation technology to support rural areas, low-income communities, schools, and libraries.”
