Nov. 20 – Between state and federal programs aimed at bringing reliable, high-speed internet access to all New Mexicans, about 95,000 households still remain out of the mix. State broadband officials are looking for legislatively appropriated dollars to fill the gap.
And how would they use the money to fill the gap? Satellite technology.
Nearly 100,000 households are ineligible for federal broadband programs, a gap that state-provided vouchers and subsidies for high-speed satellite internet service could help address, said Drew Lovelace, acting director of the state Office of Broadband Access and Expansion.
His office on Tuesday requested $70 million from the Legislative Finance Committee to accelerate the Connect New Mexico Fund, which aims to improve connectivity for all New Mexicans.
Satellite internet technology would especially increase access in rural and hard-to-reach areas of New Mexico as the state awaits more reliable deployment of broadband technology, the broadband agency said.
The office would prioritize unserved areas – locations with 25 megabits per second, or mbps, download and upload speeds of 3 mbps or less – and underserved areas – locations with between 25 mbps/3 mbps and 100 mbps download and 20 mbps upload speeds.
Lovelace proposed family vouchers for the necessary hardware for satellite internet services and $30 monthly subsidies for low-income households to alleviate their $120 monthly internet bills.
The broadband agency’s one-time spending of $70 million would ensure “New Mexicans today are not left behind in the digital divide” while still looking to the future, Lovelace said.
The satellite vouchers and grants, if the appropriations request is approved in the 2025 Legislature and by the governor, would likely not start until next year at the earliest.
The total budget request for the broadband agency for fiscal year 2026 is just over $3 million, which the broadband agency said is an increase of $650,000 over the previous fiscal year.
Overall, Lovelace says, broadband is infrastructure and needs to be funded over the longer term.
“My big ask coming out of this is that we move away from one- and two-year appropriations and look at three- to five-year appropriations and make sure we can go through the entire grant cycle,” he said.
