New Mexico Make Small Awards to Assist Broadband Planning

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2025 — A Pueblo community and a northern New Mexico utility company secured $100,000 each to jump-start new broadband projects, marking another step forward in the state’s push to deliver high-speed internet.

The New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion awarded a total of $200,000 through its Grant Writing, Engineering and Planning Program, or GWEP, to the Pueblo of Pojoaque and Kit Carson Electric Cooperative Inc, according to a recent press release.

“These grants serve as another milestone to help expand broadband across New Mexico,” said Neala Krueger, OBAE’s state grants program coordinator.

According to a press release, the funding supported planning, engineering and grant writing activities to help the two recipients design and deploy broadband infrastructure. Each received the program’s maximum award of $100,000.

The Pueblo of Pojoaque, located in Santa Fe County, planned to use its grant to launch a broadband initiative aimed at strengthening connectivity, improving service mapping, and preparing for future infrastructure investments.

Kit Carson Electric Cooperative, based in Taos, said it would use its award to bolster federal grant proposals and maximize community benefit through broadband expansion. The GWEP funds supported preliminary planning, mapping, design and engineering for high-speed internet projects.

Since its inception, OBAE has issued 34 GWEP awards totaling $3.3 million, including grants to 15 Tribal communities, 15 local governments, and four rural electric and telephone cooperatives. The state allocated $5 million to the program, leaving about $1.7 million still available for planning grants.

The awards provided assistance rather than competitive funding, meaning applicants did not have to compete for grants.

“We were thankful to OBAE for this planning award, which will allow us to continue to plan, design and map a high-speed broadband fiber network to Gallina and Chama residents,” said Luis Reyes, CEO of Kit Carson Electric Cooperative.