New Mexico Broadband Overview
A (draft) list of some NM statewide telecommunications issues, initiatives, problems & opportunities, prepared by Richard Lowenberg.
Broadband for New Mexico:
Issues, Initiatives, Problems and Opportunities
(7.27.07 Draft)
President Bush, visiting Albuquerque in early 2004, called for
“Broadband for All, by 2007”. Lacking significant action,
in early 2007 FCC Commissioner, Michael J. Copps announced that “The
United States is the only developed country in the world without a
Broadband Strategy.”
The U.S ranks variably *12-16th in the world, for broadband
penetration, and New Mexico households are near the bottom of ranking
in the nation. Approximately *7% of all NM house-holds have
broadband access, compared to 20% of all households
nationally. (*statistics vary)
Many rural New Mexico communities are still severely under-connected to
even the most basic broadband (DSL) infrastructure and
services. New Mexico’s rural and poor urban
communities are largely, far on the wrong side of the ‘digital
divide’.
Previous years’ projects to improve telecommunications access and
services in New Mexico, such as Connect New Mexico, START, Connect Rio
Arriba (Chama) and Taos’ La Plaza project have lost funding, momentum
and key ‘champions’, and are now mostly inactive.
Incumbent phone and cable companies, mobile cellular and satellite
access services provide fairly low-bandwidth connectivity and tiered
pricing, emphasizing downloads but not uploads. Thus,
subscribers are regarded only as ‘consumers’, rather than also
providers of information. Even if the incumbent providers
(Qwest and Comcast being the most notable) would like to do more here,
they are severely limited by lack of investment capital, since New
Mexico must compete with much more populated areas. (We are
designated a bottom “Tier 3” state, when it comes to prioritizing
investments at the corporate level.) Companies wanting to
offer competing alternative services are often restricted by
incumbent-favoring business practices.
DSL penetration in the Qwest NM area is currently 69% vs. 82% average
in all the Qwest states. Qwest has previously determined
that nowhere in its service area are ‘true’ broadband services
profitable. Qwest Communications, in its Settlement
Agreement with the State of New Mexico, must now upgrade facilities and
infrastructure throughout the state over the next few years; while
providing some rebate to customers; and supporting a state networked
education project.
“Wire New Mexico”, the State’s ‘mission-critical’ fiber and microwave
backbone project, is currently being deployed to provide for high
capacity inter-connectivity, for state agencies and universities
only. Funded in part by Homeland Security, its uses
are restricted and proprietary.
The Governor has appointed a board to oversee and make decisions on
extended deployment, connections to, and applications for the 40 Gbps
National LambdaRail Network, in New Mexico. This next
generation Internet, high-capacity backbone offers unique
strategic opportunities for cost savings and innovative solutions to
support many of our state’s networking needs.
New Mexico Public Education Department’s Rural Education Division has
partial funding, but a long way to go yet, to roll out IDEAL-NM
(Innovative Digital Education and Learning in NM), its “digital divide”
bridging PK-20 distance education initiative.
UNM’s Tele-Health Center has taking the lead on a large partnered grant
proposal to the FCC’s Rural Healthcare Pilot Program, for a New
Mexico-Arizona tele-health network and services. Governor
Richardson’s film and media initiative, and the State’s science,
technology, education and economic development programs, plus energy
and water projects, all require broadband fiber infrastructure, for
which an integrated strategic plan has not been developed or
implemented.
Sandoval County recently embarked on one of the nations most ambitious
‘open’ broadband wireless infrastructure and access
projects. With peering connections to the National
LambdaRail, the project was to provide low cost, high speed services
throughout the large, mostly rural county, including seven native
pueblo communities. Accounting and contracting
irregularities which are now being investigated by the State Auditor,
may jeopardize the project.
A number of Native American community applicants in New Mexico have
received U.S. Dep’t of Agriculture-RUS funding to provide broadband
access and services for their underserved, rural, low-density
populations. “Internet to the Hogan” centered in
Crownpoint, will serve parts of the Navajo Nation. Laguna
Pueblo and San Ildefonso are deploying wireless networks, and startup
providers, such as Sacred Wind, are extending tele-service with RUS
grants.
Commercial vendors, such as Verizon and Qwest, are rolling out digital
cellular services in a number of New Mexico’s small and large
communities, including Red River and the Las Lunas region, as well as
in Rio Rancho, Farmington, Gallup, Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las
Cruces.
The City of Las Cruces and some northern New Mexico municipalities are
now considering fiber optic and wireless ‘open service provider
networks.’ The state’s Municipal League, led by its
President, Espanola’s Mayor Joseph Maestas, passed a Resolution in
2006, advocating for community owned ‘open’ fiber broadband
networks.
The City of Albuquerque has issued an RFP for a citywide wireless
network. The City also has a number of increasingly
important fiber co-location, peering centers, such as 505 Marquette
St. Yet, some neighborhoods in the state’s largest city
still do not have DSL or cable modem access.
Like most other communities in New Mexico, Santa Fe came out on the
‘short end’ of its cable re-franchising agreement with Comcast
Communications (in 2003). It received no prior
non-compliance fees, nor a fiber I-Net to connect government
facilities, non-commercial community sites or the public school
district (now contracting for fiber at higher cost, with Qwest.)
City of Santa Fe has yet to successfully deploy its Light Trail,
government fiber-net backbone, but is slowly beginning to deploy public
access wireless infrastructure. Santa Fe County intends to
now bring fiber interconnections to the Community College District and
new business park.
The 1st-Mile New Mexico initiative is advocating “Broadband for All” in
New Mexico, through creation of a State “Integrated Strategic Broadband
Plan”; organizing-hosting a national “Open Broadband” conference; and
establishment of a 1st-Mile Institute, to carry on long term
efforts.
There’s lots more currently in process, lots more to do and lots more
expected.