Despite investing more than $300 million of state and federal funding to increase broadband connectivity over the last four years, New Mexico “lags behind” the rest of the nation in adoption due to a decentralized broadband governance structure, according to a new report from the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee.
The report, published Nov. 1, found that New Mexico is tied with Arkansas for 49th in the country in broadband adoption rates. And it went on to state that the New Mexico’s problem is a bureaucratic one. While the state has received hundreds of millions of dollars in funding in recent years to connect schools, hospitals and other institutions, it doesn’t have a single agency that handles broadband financing or installation.
