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.
Lopez joined Fiber Broadband Association President and CEO Gary Bolton at a Fiber for Breakfast webinar on Wednesday to discuss broadband deployment and challenges in New Mexico, which became a state in 1912.
Lopez also discussed OBAE’s plans for spending BEAD non-deployment dollars, including critical infrastructure buildouts, 5G support, and workforce development. He emphasized the need for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to provide flexibility for states to use the non-deployment funds. OBAE will plan on reducing the overall cost of need by building out middle mile infrastructure and long haul fiber to support BEAD projects.
Lopez also said OBAE wants to use the non-deployment dollars to support New Mexico’s workforce development, which has already been supported by a $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. The money from the grant led to a contract with fiber certifier BICSI and the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions to train communities on how to build fiber networks, support quantum infrastructure, and plan for data centers.
With BEAD non-deployment dollars, Lopez said the money can be used to support this workforce program and create apprenticeship opportunities for New Mexico residents to build out its networks.
Member discussion