New Mexico Senate Bill Would Fund $10M Broadband Subsidy

Jan. 27, 2026 – New Mexico State Sen. Michael Padilla, D-Bernalillo, introduced a bill Monday to authorize $10 million to assist New Mexico households with the cost of broadband service. 

Prepared in consultation with the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion and the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, the Low-Income Telecommunications Assistance Program, or Senate Bill 152, would draw funding from $40 million earmarked for the State Rural Universal Service Fund. 

The legislation mandates that for the first year, the PRC use $10 million for broadband affordability. During subsequent years, the bill specifies that the PRC may provide up to $45 million for affordability programs.

“New Mexico has embraced the importance of a robust high speed broadband delivery strategy,” Padilla said. “Fully funding an internet affordability program ensures all New Mexicans can live successfully in the information age and have access to economic opportunities, healthcare options and distance learning.” 

The bill was announced days after New Mexico’s OBAE released its three-year statewide broadband plan, which aims at achieving universal broadband access by 2029. As part of the plan, OBAE proposed a state affordability program to replace the expired federal Affordable Connectivity Program.

In April 2024, the federal ACP — which offered low-income households broadband discounts for $30 per month — expired, and the federal government chose not to extend ACP. The funding lapse led more than 180,000 New Mexico families to lose the subsidy that helped lower their monthly internet bills. 

While discounts and logistics of the state subsidy have yet to be established by the PRC, the program is intended to make high-speed internet more affordable for New Mexico households.

“Now, the biggest single barrier is affordability. This money would be used to provide broadband discounts to thousands of low-income families,” said OBAE Director Jeff Lopez. “Connecting New Mexicans is our main mission, but too many New Mexicans cannot afford high-speed internet, and we want to change that. Broadband is a utility, a necessity, and income should not be a factor when it comes to who is able to receive it.”