Three southwest New Mexico communities will gain access to high-speed internet next year through a multi-million dollar state grant provided to Valley Telephone Cooperative.

The state’s Office of Broadband Access and Expansion awarded more than $5.6 million to the utility company, which services parts of Arizona and southwest New Mexico below Interstate 10. Animas, Cotton City and Hachita, located in Grant and Hidalgo counties, are largely rural communities.

“This project will have a generational impact for residents in this rural corner of the state. No one should lack access to broadband, and this important connectivity is a sign of real progress,” said Drew Lovelace, acting director of the Office of Broadband Access and Expansion, in a news release.

According to the Office of Broadband Access and Expansion, the grant will fund 135 miles of fiber broadband construction to 324 homes and 101 businesses.

The grant was awarded through the department’s Connect New Mexico Fund, which has allocated more than $40 million to broadband expansion projects in areas such as Peñasco Valley, Picuris Pueblo, San Ildefonso Pueblo and Isleta Pueblo.

The office said the full project in Grant and Hidalgo counties will connect high-speed internet to 170 unserved locations and 255 underserved locations. 

Heather Floyd, regulatory affairs specialist for Valley Telephone Cooperative, said the company is working to approve a contractor by the end of November, then permitting can begin. Floyd said the plan is to start construction in early January 2025.

The Office of Broadband Access and Expansion said the project could be completed by spring 2025. However, Floyd said the company’s goal is to complete the project by the end of June 2025, which is when the state’s reimbursement eligibility ends.

“Even nine months to do a project’s pushing it. Usually a project is about a year timeframe,” Floyd said.

She said the three communities are currently served by copper wiring. This will be replaced with broadband fiber, or fine glass strands, which can deliver more data.

Floyd said Rodeo, New Mexico is the other community in the company’s service area that needs to be upgraded from copper wiring. She said the construction in Rodeo is scheduled for 2027, but could possibly start sooner if the company receives funding through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program.