It’s been a big week in New Mexico broadband — and it’s only Tuesday.
One bit of news is that the state’s Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (OBAE) authorized legislation that, if passed, would provide $10 million in funding for low-income families.
That was coupled with the news that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approved the state’s Final Proposal in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. New Mexico was originally allocated $675 million in BEAD funding and the states announced provisional awards for almost $433 million.
The legislation the OBAE authorized is known as the Low-Income Telecommunications Assistance Program (LITAP). It was written by the OBAE in consultation with New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) and was introduced by Senate Majority Whip Michael Padilla as Senate Bill 152.
The legislation would update the New Mexico PRC’s statute to ensure that the sum be dedicated to broadband affordability for the first year. As much as $45 million could be provided during the subsequent years.
“OBAE and the PRC have met the challenge of broadband access so that every household and small business has the physical infrastructure to connect to the internet,” New Mexico OBAE Director Jeff Lopez said in a press release.
“Now, the biggest single barrier is affordability. This money would be used to provide broadband discounts to thousands of low-income families. Connecting New Mexicans is our main mission, but too many New Mexicans cannot afford high-speed internet, and we want to change that. Broadband is an essential utility and income should not be a factor when it comes to who is able to receive it.”
The press release says that the goal is to create a New Mexican version of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which ended in June 2024. At that point, more than 180,000 families in the state were supported.
More information about New Mexico broadband, including links to state funding resources, grants made, BEAD news, state-specific Telecompetitor coverage, and more can be found on Telecompetitor’s Broadband Nation webpage for the state.
