New Mexico To Close Digital Divide With $382 Million From BEAD
The state broadband office hopes to use BEAD non-deployment dollars to expand infrastructure, 5G, and workforce programs.
WASHINGTON, April 15, 2026 – New Mexico is inching closer to closing the digital divide.
“By the end of this year, 2026, we plan to have enforceable commitments — those signed grant agreements — to serve every single location in New Mexico,” said New Mexico’s Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (OBAE) Director Jeff Lopez. “I’m saying 100 percent of the small businesses, 100 percent of the households in New Mexico.”
Lopez said New Mexico’s $382 million Broadband, Equity Access and Deployment program allocation was “sufficient,” and will allow connectivity to reach every location in the state. However, he also noted that continual map changes, rights-of-way challenges, and potential defaults pose difficulties to securing a full and permanent 100 percent. Lopez said this may lead the state to fall short of closing the digital divide, instead serving 99.9 percent of locations.
