Three projects bringing high-speed Internet to rural communities in Cibola and McKinley counties and funded by the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act are complete, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's office announced Tuesday. The funding was awarded in 2023.
"Rural New Mexicans need reliable Internet access and we're delivering it," Lujan Grisham said in a statement.
In Cibola County, 109 homes in Pine Meadow Ranches near Ramah were connected to a fiber network. Oso Internet Solutions built the 50-mile fiber network with a $5.8 million American Rescue Plan Act grant and $2.3 million in matching funds from the company.
The terrain was a challenge for installation. The community is in a volcanic area with an abundance of malpaís rock, requiring specific equipment to saw through, said Oso Internet Solutions owner Margaret Merrill. Homes are located far apart, requiring the fiber to reach long distances.
"We have had wildfires in our network territory. Buried fiber is the only fiber that will not burn on utility poles in a wildfire," Merrill said.
Overall, Oso Internet Solutions has connected more than 560 homes in the Ramah area to fiber Internet, according to Sonia Nez, department manager for the Navajo Nation Broadband Office.
"This achievement means more Navajo families now have the vital tools to access online health care, attend virtual classes, and stay connected with loved ones, all from the comfort of their homes," Nez said in a statement.
Oso Internet Solutions is working on another federally funded project with the Navajo Nation to bring high-speed Internet to 600 families in the Ramah Navajo Chapter, and a state funded project to bring broadband to 50 students and school staffers in the Fence Lake area, Merrill said. Homes involved in those projects should be connected to the Internet by the end of the year.
In McKinley County, Commnet Broadband and Sacred Wind, known to the public as Ethos Broadband, built two fixed wireless systems to serve locations near Gallup. The companies connected 162 locations in the Western Skies subdivision and 248 locations in Thoreau. A $1 million grant and $1 million in matching funds from the Internet service provider paid for the new Internet systems.
All three finished projects provide 100 megabits per second in download and upload speeds. The Federal Communications Commission defines high-speed Internet as 100 mbps download speeds and 20 mbps upload speeds.
These are the first broadband projects paid for with American Rescue Plan Act money to be completed in New Mexico, according to state Office of Broadband Access and Expansion spokesman Mike Curtis.
Members of New Mexico's congressional delegation who voted in favor of the law praised Tuesday's announcement.
"This funding will connect New Mexicans in rural areas to careers they can build their families around, help local small businesses boost their sales online, and provide the next generation with the tools they need to succeed in their education and beyond," Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., said in a statement.
There are 19 active projects funded by money from the legislation and two more are close to being done in Luna and Chaves counties, Curtis said.
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