Following delays from federal officials, New Mexico’s agency to expand broadband is seeking the release of $293 million in promised funds to boost internet access.
Leadership at the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion said that funding allotted for 31 projects across the state remains in limbo after the Trump Administration failed to release guidelines for how to spend the money.
The money is part of a larger $675 million allocation to New Mexico from federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment funds. In January, federal officials signed off on New Mexico’s plans to spend $382 million on a mix of fiber, fixed wires and low-orbit satellite to grow internet access for more than 42,000 people across the state.
The $293 million remaining was set aside for support projects outside of directly connecting people to the internet, such as building up workforce programs, or replacing electricity poles, according to an OBAE March 17 news release. Spending for support projects was put on hold following a June 2025 notice by federal officials, which said further guidance would come in the spring.
The March 9 deadline set by the National Telecommunications Information Administration, which oversees the federal funding, came and went without the guidance and is now holding up $21 billion in funding across 50 states and six territories, OBAE Director Jeff Lopez told Source NM.
“In New Mexico, we have a critical need for this funding — full stop,” Lopez said. “And now we need guidance from the federal government on eligible uses so that we can start spending it down.”
He said the support programs are vital to ensure “connection infrastructure and workforce development programs” are in place for the state’s direct expansion of broadband access.
In December, U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska) wrote a letter to the NTIA urging the Trump administration to issue a decision on support projects — officially called “non-deployment spending” — signed by 12 other senators.
The NTIA did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment. In a March 12 response to the senators’ December letter, NTIA Assistant Secretary Arielle Roth did not specify a date when guidance would be released, but said the agency “is taking additional time to review the comments and finalize our approach.”
