NM broadband office seeks $70M for satellite expansion

Part of the giant Biden Administration funding measure that provides funds for US infrastructure includes large support for Broadband Access. There’s talk the new Administration will attempt to claw back portions of that funding, but that’s conjecture at this point. For now, there’s this funding request to the NM Legislature’s next session in January 2025.

As the NM populace is so spread out over one of the largest land areas of any state…there are specific needs for tech that can solve the costs involved.

In some areas where cell service is present, 5G Internet to the Home is present, but generally that exists in areas with higher population densities that can generate revenue to cover the tech roll out and network costs.

Of note, the funding request noted below is for a sort of bandaid  satellite broadband access…a technology that is still developing. Space X’s Starlink is already available as a possible access method, but it’s pricey with latency realities.  But satellite access still has proponents who believe the tech will get better and the cost will “come down” to a competitive level with current hard wired access.

So the cost per user per square mile remains a huge stumbling block to affordable access in the areas that are most underserved, or unserved, and while there’s more recognition of the needs involved, and the funding involved, we are still in a “hoping for something to change” mode to enable affordable access in the far flung rural areas of NM, and other western states.