New Mexico is getting $117 million through the American Rescue Plan’s Capital Projects Fund to expand high-speed to more areas of the state.
State and federal officials say the funding for broadband infrastructure will connect an estimated nearly 41,000 households and businesses to high-speed internet access.
It represents about 21% of locations that lack strong internet service.
The federal dollars will fund the Connect New Mexico Broadband program that’s designed to build the broadband infrastructure to areas without reliable service.
When completed the system will provide customers with internet speeds of 100 up and down megabytes per second.
US Senator Ben Ray Lujan says being able to connect to the internet at any time is not a reality for many people living in New Mexico and other western states.
He says this funding will go far in helping businesses and children who need a strong internet for their education.
“Access to affordable, resilient, and affordable broadband is an essential necessity and we all know it opens economic opportunities, connects students and teachers to education resources, and helps us stay connected to families and friends,” he said. “It will save people’s lives as well by keeping first responders connected. I’m hopeful we can get this done. Without fast and reliable broadband entire communities fall behind.”
Each of the internet service providers funded by the program will participate in the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program. It’s a $30 per month subsidy for qualifying households.
To date, 24 states have been approved to invest over $3.2 billion of CPF funding in affordable, reliable high-speed internet, which those states estimate will reach more than 765,000 locations.
