Rural communities in Southern New Mexico often find themselves with few options for internet service, and for residents, this can create significant barriers to essential services and opportunities. Sandra Schoonover lives in Mesquite with her husband and nephew. She said that no matter the service provider, getting reliable internet is virtually impossible.
“Sometimes, like during the school year when my nephew is doing homework or tutoring on his computer, I’m still working [and] we can’t do both,” Sandra said. “Or like right now in the summer when he has some time off, he’ll try to play video games while I’m working, and we can’t do that either.”
Sandra’s internet service provider advertises download speeds in Mesquite to be up to 10 megabits per second, well short of what the FCC defines as broadband capability. But her speed is often much worse than that, and with her lifestyle of working from home and caring for her family, she says she would welcome infrastructure projects but does not know where to start.
“How do we go about it? How do we do it? How do I bring those resources into my home, into my community? Not just like, ‘ok, there’s going to be a meeting.’ Well, what else do I do?”
To help solve the issue of outreach, Borderplex Connect, a coalition of several entities, was awarded $300,000 through the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program to help connect borderland communities. Daisy Maldonado, Director of the Empowerment Congress and board member of Borderplex Connect, said that outreach is just the beginning of solving the issue of connectivity.
“We understand that both the state, federal, and even the county government have often ignored these communities. But to take a step back and give up or throw our hands up also isn’t a solution. One community member often says that if there's a problem there's a solution, let's keep looking for that solution,” she said. “There’s a solution here, so let's just keep trying like and not give up. And it might take a little while, but through our collective power we can actually move and change things at the local level, state level, and even at the federal level.”
Roughly 20% of New Mexicans don’t have access to a reliable internet connection according to the FCC, and for people living in rural communities, that can be a hindrance to every day life. To address this, the state appointed Kelly Schlegel as the first director of the office of Broadband Access and Expansion. The office recently secured $675 million in federal funding meant to enhance connectivity in underserved areas. Schlegel’s office has been tasked to lead the effort to connect communities that may not be commercially viable.
“This is our generation’s focus. This is what we need to do for our children. The economic development, the opportunities for schooling, the communities keeping their children engaged and wanting to stay there and not leave for another state, those things can’t be measured in dollars,” she said.
Schlegel said that while her broadband team is working on behalf of New Mexicans, it’s important for communities to organize and advocate for themselves.
“We can collaborate, we can point to the tools, we can coach, we can make sure that the puzzle pieces are coming together. But we need you and your community to form a broadband team with a broadband action leader,” she said. “I wish they could have a paid one in every community, but sometimes it takes a volunteer.”
These efforts have already been underway in the border city of Sunland Park, where a group called Mamacítas Cibernéticas conducted a survey to gauge the digital needs of the community. The group was awarded around $15,000 from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funds to conduct the report. Maria Chaparro, community representative for the group, said it’s now up to the city to take action.
“What I would like the City of Sunland Park to do is be the leader and galvanize and pressure the other resources here like Doña Ana Community College, like Empowerment Congress, like Gadsden Independent School District to form a coalition to pool resources together to make a plan to get [money] coming down from these broadband initiatives and implement digital literacy services. It's all outlined in how they can do that in this report.”
According to their report, 92% of individuals surveyed considered lack of skills as the biggest barrier to their use of the internet, and only about 9% of those surveyed knew where to go to find technical support for personal devices when they need it.
Chaparro said that she hopes the city can secure funding from the federal funds passed down to the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion.
“We did a lot of groundwork for them. So I want them to follow through,” she said. “You saw how many community people were present they're waiting they are willing and able to participate in the services, but now they're waiting. So I'm hoping someone will get funding before the [state] office is ready [to] apply for funds because folks need that money to be able to learn all about the internet now.”
For Javier Perea, Mayor of Sunland Park, the work that Mamacítas Cibernéticas did is a step in the right direction.
“We have to start somewhere, and I think this provides an opportunity, a sampling, of what exists across the entire county within this area. If we work together we can bridge these gaps that exist with a need for education, broadband access, and anything that comes with that,” he said. “Any infrastructure dollars that we can tap into, we try and reach those dollars. But again, there is a component of matching dollars as well that have to be put up by municipalities or government entities. So these are dollars that we have to pursue on a measured basis.”
Before the end of the year, the state will submit a plan to the federal government detailing how the funds will be deployed around the state. In the meantime, advocates in rural communities say they’ll continue to broadcast the need for broadband speeds as they wait for action from local, state, and federal programs.
