State broadband officials are asking New Mexicans a question: What’s enough when it comes to internet access?
The New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion, the agency overseeing a massive expansion of broadband infrastructure across the state, is soliciting public feedback through Dec. 9 to set a Minimum Digital Living Standard, a baseline for what residents need to function in today’s digital society.
These days, internet access is about far more than surfing the web, said Jeff Lopez, director of the state broadband office. It’s a catalyst for education, healthcare and economic development — particularly in some of New Mexico’s most remote communities.
“Whether it’s workforce development or education or telehealth, telemedicine, rural access to healthcare, there is so much of modern life that relies on access to the internet,” Lopez said.
The request for information comes as New Mexico and the federal government invest heavily in expanding broadband access in some of the most remote corners of the state. So far, New Mexico has received $382 million from the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program to connect households and businesses.
Another $293 million has been allocated to the state for “nondeployment” uses, like installing 5G towers, constructing middle-mile infrastructure and connecting “community anchor” institutions such as schools, colleges, libraries, health centers and fire and police stations, though the state broadband office is still awaiting instructions to spend those funds.
While the BEAD program — which was established under President Joe Biden — has been subject to some delays due to changes to the program rules during the Trump administration, Lopez confirmed the state is still on track to receive that money eventually.
Hoping for feedback
State lawmakers earlier this year established the Low-Income Telecommunications Assistance Program, which will provide up to $10 million to help low-income families afford broadband service starting in December. In future years, the program will grow to up to $45 million per year, a sum that would serve 100,000 New Mexico families.
The public comment period on the Minimum Digital Living Standard — a concept first developed by researchers in the United Kingdom — is meant to assess New Mexicans’ basic needs in terms of internet service as well as adequate equipment, digital literacy, privacy and safety.
The Federal Communications Commission has its own baseline for adequate high-speed internet access: The current benchmark is a download speed of 100 megabits per second and an upload speed of 20 megabits per second. That’s roughly fast enough to stream a movie or send a video.
New Mexico has been making progress toward expanding access to that level of bandwidth. The FCC in 2024 designated about 10% of addresses in New Mexico as underserved or unserved in terms of broadband access — meaning the other 90% have adequate internet access. The state is on track to reach 94% adequacy by the end of 2026, according to report published in October by the state Office of Broadband Access and Expansion.
But the Minimum Digital Living Standard is more comprehensive, Lopez said. It goes beyond internet service to consider other barriers people might face in participating in the digital world.
Hardware, for instance, poses a significant challenge for households across the state. While New Mexico has made progress toward expanding internet service, data from the state broadband office indicates nearly 23% of New Mexicans still lack a desktop or laptop computer.
Public feedback on the state’s standard will inform the Office of Broadband Access and Expansion’s future programs as well as inspire potential future legislation on internet access.
Lopez encouraged anyone interested in the subject to submit a public comment.
“We don’t have the best ideas. Sometimes we have good ideas, but really, the public and the people implementing these are the best sources of information, so we’re hoping to get a lot of comments back,” he said.
Margaret O’Hara reports on issues affecting healthy communities in New Mexico. Her work is funded by a grant from Anchorum Health Foundation. Anchorum will not have any role in editorial decisions. The New Mexican and its Public Service Journalism Fund retain full editorial control. Philanthropically funded stories by The New Mexican are made available to all readers without a paywall.
