CONNECT New Mexico News:
ALBUQUERQUE — The New Mexico state Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (OBAE) has announced it has awarded $1.4 million in grants to 15 entities for planning, engineering and grant writing to expand broadband access in their communities.
“This is a big step forward to helping unserved regions of our state attain high-speed internet,” OBAE Acting Director Drew Lovelace said.
The grants awarded under the Grant Writing, Engineering and Planning Program (GWEP) will be used by the awardees for such things as grant writing, engineering and planning for broadband expansion projects. The grants can also be used to attain other funds, like those available under the federal Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.
GWEP awards must be used in the development of infrastructure projects. Internet Service Providers are not eligible.
The grants were awarded in two rounds this month.
Grant awardees:
Round 1 / Round 2
- Village of Pecos $100,000 – Santa Fe County $100,000
- Valencia County $100,000 – Colfax County $72,635
- Pueblo of Isleta $100,000 – City of Raton $100,000
- San Ildefonso Services, LLC $100,000 – Pueblo of Picuris $100,000
- Pueblo of Laguna $100,000 – Redi-Net $100,000
- Pueblo of Jemez $100,000 – Penasco Valley Telephone Co-op $72,500
- Otero County $100,000 – Jemez Mountains Electric Co-op $100,000
- Luna County $99,000
Money is still available in the program, and OBAE is urging tribal governments, local governments, rural telephone cooperatives and rural electric cooperatives to submit applications for the assistance grants.
For more information about the program, click here.
