State grants bring high-speed internet to Lordsburg and Columbus

Hundreds of students attending the Lordsburg Municipal Schools will soon have greater access to high-speed internet thanks to a new grant from the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion, the agency announced Tuesday.

The office awarded a $1.5 million “Student Connect” grant to internet provider TWN Communications to bring fixed wireless service to 395 households in the rural community without reliable internet connections, plus three years of free service for students and staff participating in the program.

TWN also received a $1.5 million grant during the summer to serve 484 students in the Silver Consolidated School District in Grant County.

“When public and private partners come together with a shared vision, we’re able to reach communities that have long been underserved,” TWN CEO Colin Wood said in a statement for the Journal. “This collaboration with the State of New Mexico and the Lordsburg Municipal School District demonstrates the power of partnership — expanding access, creating opportunity, and delivering the connectivity students and families need to thrive.”

Fixed wireless internet delivers service through radio signals from cellular towers, as an economic solution for remote areas without cable or fiber optic infrastructure in place.

“Hundreds of students who attend Lordsburg schools can’t do homework online, apply to colleges or access learning resources when they leave school,” Neala Krueger, OBAE’s state grants program coordinator, said in a written statement. “That’s about to change.”

The funds will enable the construction of wireless towers and infrastructure specific to participating households in the Lordsburg area.

The grants are supported by the office’s Connect New Mexico Fund, established by the state Legislature in 2021 with a $25 million appropriation aimed at bringing internet service to public school districts. It has also received $70 million to extend broadband infrastructure, and $5 million for engineering, planning and grant writing.

The office said the Student Connect grants focus on students and staff in rural areas, and has awarded 13 grants statewide.

OBAE director Jeff Lopez told lawmakers this summer that 90,000 locations in New Mexico were deemed either “unserved” or “underserved,” based on minimum speeds for downloads and uploads.

In Luna County, fiber installation is extending access to hundreds of residents and businesses.

Last month, the office celebrated a $3.7 million grant, funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act, to provider Valley TeleCom Group for a high-speed fiber internet project in Columbus, bringing service to 200 homes and businesses in the border village, with a target of 822. The project involved the installation of nearly 50 miles of fiber optic line beginning in June 2024. Valley TeleCom contributed $5.7 million of its own capital to the project, the OBAE said.

The village sits three miles from the Columbus Port of Entry.

“We feel this is going to be a huge game changer for our community,” Columbus Mayor Philip Skinner said. “It will enable businesses, students and individuals to be more efficient and productive with their time.”