Thanks in part to a state grant, a New Mexico company will begin providing full broadband internet access to the Pueblo of Zuni in Western New Mexico.
The pueblo, located about 40 miles south of Gallup, has a population of around 7,800. It previously had unreliable internet access, Zuni Governor Val Panteah said at a recent press conference organized by Continental Divide Electric Cooperative.
"Before the pandemic, we had challenges with our internet," Panteah said. "A lot of it was basically service that wasn't too strong. Usually, it was [digital subscriber lines] or satellite."
Now, all Zuni households will receive broadband service free of charge for three years.
The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission provided a $3.23 million grant to Continental Divide to build out its Red Bolt Broadband network into the Pueblo of Zuni. The entire broadband buildout had a price tag of $4.4 million; some money for the expansion also came from the American Rescue Plan which allocated over $200 billion to states, territories and Tribal entities for economic recovery.
Under a service agreement recently signed between Continental Divide and tribal officials, the pueblo government will pay a "discounted bulk price" for broadband to be provided to Zuni residents without charge over the next three years. The co-op began connecting Zuni households to broadband service last month, according to a press release from Continental Divide.
Broadband speeds will initially run up to one gigabit. Residents can opt to decline broadband service if they so choose, according to the broadband network's website.
The internet service will be symmetrical, meaning that upload and download speeds will be even. Other types of internet connections previously used by Zuni residents, like digital subscriber lines or satellite, have uneven upload and download speeds, leading to inconsistent access.
Continental Divide has offices in Grants, N.M. and Gallup. The not-for-profit cooperative has planned to expand its broadband service to the Pueblo of Zuni since March of this year.
The cooperative first brought broadband service to the Zuni reservation through a communication trunk line in 2020, providing increased internet speeds to the Zuni Public School District. Its primary service area includes Grants, San Rafael, Milan and Bluewater along Interstate 40 in western New Mexico.
