The NMPRC's primary jurisdiction is over intrastate telecommunications services, such as local phone service. State Commissions are also delegated responsibility by the FCC to oversee carrier's receiving federal universal service fund dollars. The NMPRC also has a state universal service fund, to which much of the money goes to rural carriers for what are called access reduction payments, which in turn mostly go to maintain and build broadband networks, and a broadband fund which allocated $5 million per year to broadband, and soon $8 million due to recently passed legislation. It is possible that if the FCC reclassifies broadband from an information service to a telecommunications service again, that the NMPRC may end up with some level of regulatory oversight of those services, but that remains to be seen. That is pretty much the extent of the NMPRC's involvement in broadband.

As you probably know, legislation was passed in the last legislative session creating a broadband division attached to the New Mexico Department of Information Technology, and it will be well funded. That division will provide a lot of the resources in New Mexico for the funding of broadband projects, and act as a clearinghouse for broadband information and broadband mapping. The NMPRC will be coordinating with the new NMDoIT broadband division in its broadband activities.

Kit Carson Electric Cooperative and Continental Divide Electric Cooperative are two electric cooperatives in New Mexico that are active in providing broadband service to customers within their service area. They have a lot of state and federal funding to do that. I am not sure how many more of the electric cooperatives in the state are considering doing the same, as it is an elective choice of those cooperatives whether to do so or not. It is certainly a nationwide trend.

I write to your as an Observer to the NM PRC on behalf of the League of
Women Voters Central New Mexico.

Each Wednesday, I log on to the Zoom Call for the PRC meeting, then send
out a summary to LWV members.

My query today deals with Broadband service in rural New Mexico.

I have learned that there are around 20 electric co ops providing
electric service over a large geographic part of New Mexico but one that
has relatively few people.

So, while residents of, say, Socorro, have broad band by which I mean
internet connections, much of NM does not now have broadband
connections. And the Socorro Electric Co Op has no plans to provide
broad band service for their rural clients.

And because of the rural nature of the area the cost to connect people
via wire would be expensive for a commercial company, like Comcast, that
I use now.

I do know that school children do or will need connections to the
internet and most businesses will as well.

The cost of creating broad band service in rural New Mexico seems to be
answered by US Govt spending as the state of NM just does not have the
resources, which are likely to be several billion dollars.

In the first half of the 20th century, the Federal Government created
the Rural Electrification Program for much of rural America to bring
people electric power..

Now the challenge for the 21st century seems to be the need for the
Federal Government to generate a Rural Broadband Program.

I welcome you comments, as well as what role the NM PRC will play.

Thank you very much,

George Richmond

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George M. Richmond
152 Juniper Hill Road, NE
Albuquerque, NM 87122-1913

C: 505-280-2105
E: geomrich1@comcast.net

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