New Mexico launched a $123 million broadband grant program with money from the American Rescue Plan Act, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said Wednesday. The Connect New Mexico Pilot Program will cover up to 75% of project costs for expanding networks in unserved and underserved areas, said the governor’s office: Local governments, tribal communities, schools, nonprofits, cooperatives and broadband service providers may apply. The pilot will precede the full Connect New Mexico program that requires administrative rulemaking, the office said. At least $70 million more state funding is coming for the next round expected in 2023, it said. The New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion released a notice of funding opportunity for the pilot Wednesday, and will accept applications on a rolling basis in three waves with Sept. 23, Dec. 9 and Feb. 27 deadlines.

New Mexico launched a $123 million broadband grant program with money from the American Rescue Plan Act, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said Wednesday. The Connect New Mexico Pilot Program will cover up to 75% of project costs for expanding networks in unserved and underserved areas, said the governor’s office: Local governments, tribal communities, schools, nonprofits, cooperatives and broadband service providers may apply. The pilot will precede the full Connect New Mexico program that requires administrative rulemaking, the office said. At least $70 million more state funding is coming for the next round expected in 2023, it said. The New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion released a notice of funding opportunity for the pilot Wednesday, and will accept applications on a rolling basis in three waves with Sept. 23, Dec. 9 and Feb. 27 deadlines.

The FCC rejected LTD Broadband and Starlink's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction long-form applications Wednesday, citing a "failure to demonstrate that the providers could deliver the promised service." LTD was the largest winning bidder, preliminarily bidding about $1.3 billion to serve 528,088 locations in 15 states (see 2012070039). Starlink's preliminary award was about $885.5 million.

The FCC Wireline Bureau partially granted the Northern Arapaho Tribal Industries a waiver of certain Connect America Fund Phase II auction rules, said an order Tuesday in docket 10-90. NATI sought a temporary waiver of the requirement that it increase the value of its letter of credit for the auction. The bureau let NATI keep its current value until the Universal Service Administrative Co. "completes its verification process for the locations to which NATI has certified deployment."

Alaska’s U.S. senators sounded the alarm over federal maps that will be used for determining funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program. The Republicans’ remarks Tuesday at a livestreamed Alaska Broadband Summit followed state officials raising concerns about holes in the FCC’s broadband serviceable location fabric to be used in upcoming maps (see 2208080056). State, local, tribal and federal officials stressed the need for engagement and collaboration to ensure funding goes where it’s needed.

NTIA awarded more than $50 million in additional tribal broadband connectivity program grants Monday, totaling more than $143 million so far, to Doyon, the Alaska Native corporation for interior Alaska, and the Ahtna Intertribal Resource Commission. The new funding will support broadband deployment and adoption efforts, said a news release. “It is humbling to see first-hand how these grants will positively impact the daily lives of Alaskan Natives who have been disconnected for far too long,” said NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson, who traveled to Alaska to "see firsthand the unique challenges and opportunities Alaska faces in implementing high-speed internet service expansion."

With more than 13 million households now enrolled in the FCC’s affordable connectivity program, commissioners approved an order Friday establishing an outreach grant program to further boost participation (see 2207150063). Commissioners at the monthly meeting also adopted an order establishing a one-year pilot program to increase ACP enrollment among households receiving federal housing assistance and a notice of inquiry seeking comment on space innovation and operations.

Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., filed the Proper Leadership to Align Networks (Plan) for Broadband Act Thursday to require the Biden administration to develop a national broadband strategy the GAO recommended in late May. Reps. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., filed the House companion. The GAO believes a national strategy is needed because 15 federal agencies administer more than 100 broadband connectivity programs, causing some overlap (see 2206010068). The bill says the national strategy must “support better management of Federal broadband programs to deliver on the goal of providing high speed, affordable broadband” to everyone in the U.S., “synchronize interagency coordination among” federal broadband programs, coordinate on approving grants “of an easement, right of way, or lease to, in, over, or on a building or any other property owned by the Federal Government for the right to install, construct, modify, or maintain” broadband infrastructure and “reduce barriers, lower costs, and ease administrative burdens for State, local, and Tribal governments to participate in Federal broadband programs.” The strategy would be due within one year of the measure’s enactment, with the White House submitting an implementation plan 120 days after the strategy’s release. “A national broadband strategy will ensure our agencies are synchronized and manage these programs effectively to make sure that more Americans gain access to high-speed broadband," Wicker said. The bill “will help improve coordination between federal agencies and local and Tribal governments to deliver on the funding we made available to build high speed, affordable broadband,” Lujan said. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr praised lawmakers for filing the legislation. “This is a vital bill that would fill a key gap in the federal government’s approach to broadband infrastructure spending,” he said. "The lack of a national coordinating strategy coupled with the absence of performance and accountability measures will result in wasted dollars and families stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide."

Industry sought improved coordination and transparency through the FCC, USDA and NTIA’s interagency agreement established under the Broadband Interagency Coordination Act of 2020. Some asked the agencies to make the shared information available publicly and to increase reliance on the FCC’s maps when coordinating broadband programs, in comments posted Tuesday in docket 22-251.

The FCC’s 2.5 GHz auction started slower than other recent 5G auctions and had little upward movement Monday, after three rounds. The auction hit $115.3 million Monday, after opening Friday at $103.5 million (see 2207290045). “Demand at the start of this auction is very tepid, with excess demand as a percentage of aggregate demand starting at roughly 37%, which puts this auction at the low end of prior auction starts,” blogged Sasha Javid, BitPath chief operating officer, about the start of the auction. “Perhaps this slow start is not surprising,” he said. “This 2.5 GHz auction is far from a typical spectrum auction.” The FCC is selling overlay licenses, which means many winners will have to negotiate with educational broadband service incumbents “if they want to use their entire license,” Javid said: “By my estimate over 80% of the MHz-POPs in these overlay licenses are encumbered (including both incumbents and all pending tribal licenses). This could explain why both Los Angeles and Cook County (Chicago), the two most populated counties in the country have demand below supply at the county level.” Another factor, some 27.5% of the U.S. doesn’t have any licenses available for sale, he said. “This is because the FCC decided against selling overlay licenses in any county where every category of license was fully-encumbered when measured by area,” he said. T-Mobile holds long-term leases with most incumbents EBS licensees and “has an information asymmetry advantage over other auction participants. … Because these leases are confidential, other bidders will not know how long they may be precluded from accessing or re-leasing parts of their licenses currently encumbered by these T-Mobile leases.” New Street’s Jonathan Chaplin predicted in a weekend note to investors the auction will likely hit $3.4 billion, less if Congresses approves a 15% book alternative minimum tax on spectrum licenses (see 2204050083). He predicted the auction will likely end in September. “We have a long way to go,” Chaplin said: “The spectrum is useless to Verizon, AT&T and Dish [Network]; their only interest in the auction is pushing up the cost for T-Mobile. Smaller carriers and [wireless ISPs] may actually have a use for some of the licenses, but these companies won’t have the resources to outbid T-Mobile for any licenses that T-Mobile views as important." But Digital Progress Institute President Joel Thayer noted widespread interest in bidding. “It's a credit to the FCC's ability in shepherding this proceeding along and I'm glad to see that we are going to unleash 2.5 GHz,” Thayer emailed: “This auction is particularly going to be helpful for T-Mobile to be an even stronger alternative to the ‘big two,’ which is great for consumers.” Thayer sees Verizon and AT&T as potentially more interested in 12 GHz, a band being looked at for 5G. Two more rounds are on tap Tuesday.