New Mexico Signs First BEAD Broadband Agreement: Nearly $27 Million to Bring Fiber to 3,935 Locations in Five Northern Counties
Santa Fe, in Santa Fe County, New Mexico: The state Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (OBAE) announced on October 14 that New Mexico's first grant agreement under the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program has been signed. Kit Carson Electric Cooperative will receive $26,988,097 to build fiber service to 3,935 locations across five northern counties, and will contribute more than $12 million in matching funds, bringing the total investment to nearly $40 million.
According to OBAE, the project covers Colfax, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, Santa Fe and Taos counties. Of the 3,935 locations, 1,970 are classified as unserved (no internet service, or speeds below 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream) and 1,965 as underserved, along with 31 community anchor institutions including schools, libraries, medical centers and public-safety facilities. The construction plan calls for about 1,035 miles of fiber, carried largely overhead. The Albuquerque Journal reported that communities in the build area include Cuba, Peñasco, Chimayó, Eagle Nest, Questa, Velarde and Red River.
OBAE said the award is the first of 19 BEAD projects granted to 15 providers across New Mexico. The office had previously made provisional awards for 31 projects covering more than 42,500 locations, but rescinded 11 awards to a single awardee after finding evidence that an employee of that company had defrauded a separate state grant program, and one additional awardee withdrew an application; OBAE is selecting replacement awardees for the affected locations under BEAD rules. In January, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham's office announced federal approval of $382 million for broadband infrastructure serving more than 42,500 locations, part of New Mexico's $675 million federal BEAD allocation.
Signing the agreement does not mean construction or service starts immediately. Kit Carson must first complete environmental reviews, permitting, Tribal and historic certifications and site preparation, while OBAE monitors deployment and the cooperative conducts community outreach. Broadband director Jeff Lopez told Source New Mexico that completion is targeted for 2030 and that environmental review and permitting alone could take one to three years. (GSM, based on the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion announcement)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：乡村地区光纤铺设施工（资料图）。美国农业部乡村发展署，公共领域，维基共享资源。Photo: Fiber-optic cabling being installed in a rural area (file photo). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
