$40M Broadband Project Targets Nearly 4,000 Rural New Mexico Locations

Almost 4,000 homes, businesses and institutions in northern New Mexico are in line for fiber internet under the state’s first project funded by the federal BEAD program, Source NM reports.

The state Office of Broadband Access and Expansion reached an agreement with Kit Carson Electric Cooperative to serve 3,935 locations in Colfax, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, Santa Fe and Taos counties. Roughly half have no broadband now and the rest have inadequate service. The project costs about $40 million, with about two-thirds from BEAD and the cooperative paying the rest.

Broadband office director Jeff Lopez told Source NM that about 74% of the state had broadband access when the office opened in 2021, compared with about 91% now. The state’s BEAD work was slowed earlier this year when federal officials rewrote program rules, and this agreement is the first of about 19 projects expected statewide.

Residents won’t see service right away. Kit Carson must first complete environmental reviews and permitting, which could take one to three years, and Lopez said he hopes the network will be finished by 2030. Santa Fe County Commissioner Justin Greene told Source NM that northern Santa Fe County has long been underserved and that the project will finish “the last mile” of earlier broadband efforts.

Editor’s note: Updated Oct. 31, 2026. This story is now part of Daily Reports, our New Mexico news roundup, and was revised to credit Source NM’s original reporting. Learn how Daily Reports works in our editorial standards.

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