Kit Carson signs New Mexico’s first BEAD construction deal

New Mexico’s first agreement

The New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion signed the state’s first binding Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment grant agreement on Oct. 14, 2026. The agreement awards Kit Carson Electric Cooperative in federal funding for fiber construction in five northern New Mexico counties.

Kit Carson will contribute more than in matching funds. The project covers 3,935 homes, businesses and public institutions, including 1,970 locations without broadband and 1,965 locations considered underserved under the program.

Kit Carson is a member-owned utility with nearly 30,000 accounts in Taos, Colfax and Rio Arriba counties. Its service territory stretches from Española, at roughly 5,600 feet in elevation, into the Sangre de Cristo mountains above 13,000 feet. The cooperative already operates electric infrastructure and rights-of-way in the region.

Construction phase begins

The signed agreement moves New Mexico’s BEAD program from grant planning and selection toward construction. Work needed before service reaches individual locations can include permits, environmental reviews, tribal consultation, utility-pole work and trenching through mountainous terrain.

The New Mexico agreement came shortly before Michigan announced contracts with 23 internet providers. Michigan’s package combines in federal and private funding and is intended to reach nearly 200,000 locations.

BEAD is a billion federal program intended to expand high-speed internet access. New Mexico broadband office Director Jeff Lopez said the Kit Carson agreement advances the state’s effort to reach full connectivity and is part of broader broadband investment in the state.