The federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, a $42 billion infrastructure project created by Congress in 2021 to ensure every American has access to high-speed Internet, has been in flux under the Trump administration.
In March, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick announced the launch of a "rigorous review" of the program he argued would get rid of "woke mandates, favoritism towards certain technologies, and burdensome regulation" of the Biden administration. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration issued new requirements for the program in June, as New Mexico's broadband office was in the final steps of reviewing sub-grantee applications.
The new requirements represent "a significant shift" in the program's structure and priorities, mandating at least one more round of grant applications for all eligible locations, said Jeff Lopez, director of the Office of Broadband Access and Expansion.
However, he said, “We will continue to work with providers that serve families across New Mexico. At the end of the day, our mission is unchanged: universal connectivity for all New Mexicans.”
The office plans to open the additional round of applications from July 7 through July 18.
In addition to requiring an extra application round, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's updated guidance made two more changes to the deployment structure established under the Biden administration.
It allows for all broadband technologies to compete equally, rather than favoring fiber internet, and it eliminated previous administrative requirements on climate, labor, government-owned networks and rate regulations.
"Instead of ensuring the swift and efficient use of these funds, the Biden Administration imposed significant non-statutory burdens and red tape that increased taxpayer costs, limited marketplace competition, and diverted resources away from actual deployment," the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's restructuring policy statement said.
DELEGATION LETTER
U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, a New Mexico Democrat who serves as the ranking member of a U.S. Senate subcommittee on telecommunications and media, has been among the loudest critics of the Trump administration's actions on broadband, first demanding the release of the program's $42 billion in funding and then criticizing the implementation changes.
On June 25, Luján — along with Sen. Martin Heinrich, Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández and more than 40 other members of Congress — signed on to a letter objecting to the new guidance, arguing it would undermine lawmakers' original intent in passing the legislation.
"We urge you to ensure that states receive the full funding and flexibility they retained prior to the issuance of the restructuring notice to fully meet these statutory objectives," the letter stated.
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