New Mexico sees TV tech as one fix to K-12 internet divide

Internet problems continue to slow down many students in the US state of New Mexico, but a pilot project using TV signals to transmit computer files may help. On November 18, state public education officials distributed devices to eight families in the city of Taos (NM) that allow schools to send them digital files via television. The boxes the size of a deck of cards allow digital television receivers to connect with computers using technology called datacasting. Many rural areas of New Mexico are too far from internet infrastructure like fiber cables and cell towers but do get TV reception. The pilot program in Taos relies on a broadcast from northern New Mexico PBS affiliate KNME, while two others are planning to roll out pilot programs in the cities of Silver City and Portales. “Until fiber optic cables bring broadband internet to every corner of New Mexico, we’re going to need a patchwork of solutions, and it sure looks like datacasting could be one,” said New Mexico Education secretary Kurt Steinhaus.