High-speed internet to expand in rural areas impacting students in seven NM school districts

By Leah Romero
​Source NM

Nearly 40,000 households in seven rural New Mexico school districts will receive high-speed home internet in the coming months.

Nearly 40,000 households in seven rural New Mexico school districts will receive high-speed home internet in coming months, following state grants from the Office of Broadband Access and Expansion’s Student Connect program.

The OBAE’s Student Connect program falls under the office’s Connect New Mexico Fund, which was established in 2021 by the legislature. It designated $70 million in state funds to expand broadband in unserved and underserved areas. Working to connect rural students and educational institutions was one of the intentions behind the creation of the fund.

Mike Curtis, spokesperson for the OBAE, said about $56 million has been awarded through the Connect New Mexico Fund so far, but this recent award came from the subprogram created specifically to help students.

Through the award of $13.5 million two internet service providers and Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo will expand high-speed internet connection to 38,482 households, according to an OBAE news release. This will ensure students and teachers continue to have access to high speed internet outside of the school setting.

The money will go toward building towers, installing fixed wireless service and providing receivers to homes. Projects are expected to be completed by June 30, 2025. According to the news release, students and school staff benefiting from the home access will also receive three years of free internet access.

​Awardees include Resound Networks, based out of Pampa, Texas; Oso Internet Solutions from Ramah, New Mexico; and Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo in Rio Arriba County. Connection will be extended to remote areas of Doña Ana, Catron, Cibola, Rio Arriba and Valencia counties, impacting students and teachers in seven school districts:

• Belen Consolidated Schools
• Gadsden Independent School District
• Grants Cibola County Schools
• Hatch Valley Public Schools
• Los Lunas Public Schools
• Ohkay Owingeh Community School
• Quemado Independent School District
  The Student Connect program grants became available in October and still has about $11.4 million in grants available for applicants. Other Connect New Mexico Fund grants awarded outside of the connection to school districts include areas in Doña Ana, Valencia, Colfax, Socorro, Grant, Hidalgo, Lincoln, Chaves, Otero, Eddy, Luna, Sierra and San Miguel counties, as well as Picuris, San Ildefonso, Isleta, Laguna and Tesuque pueblos.