Tularosa Basin Communications Receives Millions in State Grant

Tularosa Communications has been awarded  a grant that will allow it to provide Fiber Internet with speeds up to 1G/1G to approximately 1,100 homes in parts of Lincoln and Otero counties. 

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has announced that $17 million in grant awards will be distributed to broadband infrastructure expansion as part of the Connect New Mexico Pilot Program. The grant hopes to deliver universal broadband availability throughout New Mexico, with a focus on unserved and underserved communities.

The grant is funded by the American Rescue Plan and the Office of Broadband Access and Expansion is working on the rollout of the awards. Awardees of the grant include SWC Telesolutions (Ethos Broadband), Tularosa Communications, Western New Mexico Telephone Company, and Valley TeleCom Group. This grant is $2.48 Million.

July 28th 2022 it was announced they would receive $11.7 million grant/loan to the Tularosa Basin Telephone Company for Lincoln and Otero counties, including the Mescalero Apache Natio

That grant was part of a $401 million national funding announcement, are supported by the U.S. Agriculture Department’s ReConnect program.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters that the money will bring fast internet to rural residents, public schools, farms and businesses.

“Connectivity is a catalyst for economic prosperity anywhere, but it is certainly a catalyst for economic prosperity in rural communities,” Vilsack said.

The USDA says the projects will connect schools to distance learning, expand telemedicine services and give farmers and ranchers technology for more precise land and water management.

Tularosa Communications is upgrading the infrastructure for rural users taking full advantage and applying for the New Mexico Department of Information Technology received $123,066,812 of federal American Rescue Plan Act funding. That funding was for plan, design, construct, renovate and equip broadband infrastructure statewide, a Department of Information Technology news release stated.