New Mexico doesn’t want to just sit around and wait for BEAD

States are itching for action on broadband access. But as they wait for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment money to flow—and policy changes under Trump—New Mexico wants to take matters into its own hands. New Mexico’s broadband office requested $70 million in state funds to help connect 95,000 locations with satellite broadband in the next two years. Starlink would be involved, but other satellite providers (like Amazon’s Project Kuiper) may also be in the mix once the state kicks off its RFP process, said Drew Lovelace, acting director for New Mexico’s broadband office. The $70 million, if approved by the state legislature, would fund a voucher program for satellite broadband equipment, because the equipment is “a big barrier to entry” for many folks in rural New Mexico. Once the BEAD program gets rolling in New Mexico, the state hopes to use its $675 million allocation to convert most of the subsidized locations to fiber.