New Mexico to get $123 million in federal funds for broadband access

Dec. 9—New Mexico is poised to receive a $123 million federal infusion that could help it get a few steps closer to its goal of universal broadband service.

The money, which comes from a $10 billion capital projects fund in the pandemic-related American Rescue Plan Act, could help up to 141,000 homes and businesses in the state connect to high-speed internet, U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., announced in a virtual news conference Thursday.

The broadband program will help eliminate the "digital discrimination" that now comes as part of life in many remote communities in Western states, Luján added.

"Being connected to the internet 100 percent of the time is just not a reality for all the people living out West," he said.

While it will cost billions of dollars to complete the state's broadband effort, said Sandeep Taxali, a program adviser for the state Office of Broadband Access and Expansion, the federal aid "will move the needle quite a bit." His office will distribute the funds in grants of up to $10 million to interested communities, private-public partnerships and other applicants pursuing broadband projects, he added.

Participating internet providers must offer affordable broadband service in low-income areas, where tribal households would get a $75 monthly discount and other customers would receive a $30 discount, said Jacob Leibenluft, chief recovery officer for the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which authorized the investments.

New Mexico has until the end of 2026 to use the broadband funding.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced last month the state had distributed $38.6 million to support broadband infrastructure efforts through the Connect New Mexico Pilot Program. The money was bolstered by over $28 million in federal funding, the Governor's Office said in a news release.

Just how many New Mexicans remain unserved or underserved is unclear. Taxali said his agency is working on a study that should be complete in about six months.

A Legislative Finance Committee report on broadband programs released in September said New Mexico had made progress in expanding its broadband coverage. A report by the policy organization BroadbandNow ranked New Mexico 49th among the states for broadband access in 2020; by 2022, the state had moved up to 39th.

The legislative report said the pandemic highlighted the need for more high-speed, reliable internet access to support online education and remote employment opportunities.

Gene Sperling, a senior adviser to President Joe Biden, said during the news conference Thursday the pandemic "laid bare that if you did not have affordable and strong enough broadband in a home to allow two parents to work remotely and to allow several children to be able to learn remotely, you did not have access to full educational and economic opportunity in the United States."