"New Mexico's Low-Income Telecommunications Assistance Program (LITAP) took a key step toward becoming law Friday with its unanimous passage by the state senate. Senate Bill 152 would provide $10 million in funding to help as many as 27,000 low-income residents in need in New Mexico get broadband. The funding will come from the Public Regulation Commission's State Rural Universal Service Fund. That fund has $40 million earmarked for broadband funding."
""Our mission is more than delivering broadband to rural and remote parts of the state," Jeff Lopez, the director of the Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (OBAE), said in a press release. "It is critical that New Mexico families be able to afford high-speed internet. This bill will provide discounts to ensure that income doesn't deter New Mexicans from getting access to broadband.""
New Mexico's legislature approved funding to make broadband more affordable for low-income residents, with the House passing the bill 48-14 after unanimous Senate support. Senate Bill 152 would allocate $10 million to the Low-Income Telecommunications Assistance Program to help roughly 27,000 eligible residents obtain broadband. The funding will come from the Public Regulation Commission's State Rural Universal Service Fund, which has $40 million earmarked for broadband. The bill was sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Michael Padilla and cosponsored by Representatives Pamelya Herndon and Debra Sariñana. The Office of Broadband Access and Expansion emphasized that discounts will prevent income from deterring access. The bill now awaits the governor's signature; national context includes New York's $15 tier surviving legal challenge and California's pulled AB353.
Read at Telecompetitor
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