New Mexico signs first BEAD grant agreement: $27m for Kit Carson fibre build
New Mexico has signed its first Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment grant agreement, committing $27m to Kit Carson Electric Cooperative for fibre to nearly 4,000 unserved and underserved locations.
New Mexico has signed its first grant agreement under the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) programme, committing $26,988,097 to Kit Carson Electric Cooperative for a fibre build in five northern counties. The Office of Broadband Access and Expansion announced the agreement on 14 October (The American Quorum).
The project targets 3,935 locations in Colfax, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, Santa Fe and Taos counties: 1,970 classified as unserved and 1,965 as underserved, plus 31 community anchor institutions such as schools, libraries, medical centres and public-safety facilities (Light Reading).
Kit Carson will contribute more than $12m in matching funds, taking the total investment to nearly $40m. The construction plan calls for about 1,035 miles of fibre, mostly carried overhead rather than buried, reaching communities including Cuba, Peñasco, Chimayó, Eagle Nest, Questa, Velarde and Red River (GovTech).
Work is several years off: broadband director Jeff Lopez said completion is targeted for 2030, with environmental review, permitting, tribal and historic certifications expected to take one to three years before construction begins (Telecompetitor).
The state called Kit Carson’s award the first of 19 BEAD projects awarded to 15 providers. It also rescinded 11 BEAD awards to Resound Networks after a state fraud probe found an employee of the Texas-based firm had defrauded a separate New Mexico grant programme; one other awardee withdrew an application.
New Mexico’s $382m BEAD proposal was approved in January 2026, part of the state’s $675m federal allocation, to serve more than 42,500 locations.
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