State Representative Jane Powdrell-Culbert told state officials during a recent legislature hearing that she had heard optimistic presentations for years about the expansion of broadband Internet in New Mexico.
The Corrales Republican is not alone. We also. Universal broadband is as elusive as it will be tomorrow, always a day away, even if legislators have stressed it.
Industry website BroadbandNow ranks New Mexico 49th for broadband access. No wonder, considering we’re the fifth largest state geographically, with many rural communities surrounded by mountains, and on the lower end of the median household income.
Enriched with funds from state economic and infrastructure laws and a stroke of luck from oil and gas revenues, state officials see a historic opportunity to close gaps in Internet services. But they need to do it carefully, and not necessarily dig trenches for fiber optic lines from one end of the state to the other. State officials estimate that this method would take years and cost more than $ 5 billion.
There may be better ways to make internet connections available to everyone. The global pandemic has made WiFi hotspots a household name. The New Mexico Department of Economic Development is currently in a contract with a Swiss airship manufacturer to investigate the feasibility of delivering high-speed internet from a height of 12 miles above the ground, where the signals are not obstructed by mountains, buildings, and even the curvature of the earth . Another promising prospect is SpaceX, which has announced that it will eventually roll out satellite Internet service to lower latitudes, including New Mexico.
In other words, New Mexico needs to make sure it is investing in technology that not only works, but is compatible with our terrain, not just today, but also in the future.
Laws passed earlier this year set up the Office of Broadband Access and Expansion to develop a three-year nationwide broadband plan. Matt Schmit, former director of the Illinois Office of Broadband, has been hired as a consultant for the new office. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has emphasized the need to provide broadband internet service to every household. Over 20% of students were at home without internet at the beginning of the pandemic. Between 13% and 20% of NM households and businesses have neither fiber optic nor high-speed wireless internet access. Companies won’t move here due to a lack of connectivity. And unless we really diversify our economies and train our workforce, poverty will continue to be major challenges. Having internet access is one thing; Paying the bill is another matter.
State lawmakers are looking at broadband during the special session that began Monday as part of the federal infrastructure spending commissioned by the governor; You will likely revisit broadband during the 30-day parliamentary term that begins Jan. 18. State economists are forecasting record revenues of 9 billion US dollars for the state’s operating budget starting in July – a whopping 1.6 billion US dollars in “new” money above this year’s spending level. The state also has approximately $ 1.1 billion in untied federal relief funds. And a recently passed federal infrastructure bill provides approximately $ 100 million for broadband services in New Mexico. In addition, at the beginning of the year lawmakers made available around US $ 133 million for broadband expansion.
Extensive state and federal funding has made it possible to realistically think about universal Internet access in New Mexico. Still, legislators like Powdrell-Culbert are rightly skeptical. We still have a long way to go to extend high-speed rail links to parts of the greater Albuquerque area, let alone sparsely populated areas.
So we need our leaders and lawmakers to leave the rhetoric and weary promises behind and actually find solutions that give students, businesses and taxpayers who take the account a real return on internet investments.
This editorial first appeared in the . It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than that of the authors.
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