Committee questions broadband plan as office readies BEAD portal; $70 million satellite voucher proposal draws concern

The Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 4 spent an extended segment on broadband funding and the Office of Broadband’s plan to deploy federal and state resources to address unserved and hard‑to‑reach locations.

Loveless, acting director of the Office of Broadband, told senators the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) portal is open and the state has applied for federal approvals; NTIA must complete a final dataset and final approval before the office can obligate BEAD funds. He said New Mexico has received multiple NTIA approvals so far but still awaited a final dataset that affects about 10,000 locations. ‘‘We were given a process for correcting errors that will affect about 10,000 locations across the state,’’ Loveless said, and the office has granted bid extensions while waiting for the corrected NTIA dataset.

Loveless and DFA staff also described several state proposals to pair with federal money: a request to extend the existing Connect New Mexico fund, a proposed $25 million match pool to complement BEAD awards, and a larger proposal — described in the presentation as $70 million — to provide consumer equipment vouchers, installation assistance and a low‑income subscription subsidy (the packet described a satellite/voucher component aimed at very high‑cost or no‑bid locations). The LFC’s packet noted the executive sought $675 million in federal BEAD funds for statewide deployment; staff said that program’s build timeline is four to five years for many locations, and some locations will remain extremely expensive to serve without satellite solutions.

Senators raised several concerns. Senator Padilla asked whether any of the $675 million federal BEAD money has been ‘‘sent out the door’’; Loveless replied that federal approvals are required before state disbursement and that the portal is open but final NTIA approval is pending. Padilla also asked whether the office has created the intended single‑point permitting and rights‑of‑way coordination; Loveless said that component has not yet been fully stood up and acknowledged it remained a priority.

Several senators questioned the proposed $70 million for satellite‑based subsidies, noting current single‑vendor market dynamics. Loveless said the market today is dominated by 1 provider but Amazon Kuiper and other competitors are approaching readiness and the office hopes competition will arrive; he said the $70 million proposal was structured as an RFP‑based program to allow multiple providers when available. Senators and broadband officials discussed the practical limits of satellite subscriptions for low‑income households, the need to reserve satellite capacity early (NTIA requires a reservation fee for some satellite solutions) and the risk of undercutting existing rural wireless internet service providers.

The Office of Broadband also asked the committee to extend the Connect New Mexico expenditure authority so previously awarded projects have time to complete work and to consider adding another $25 million match pool to expand opportunities for community anchor institutions and multifamily housing.

Loveless said the office has grown from 2 to 27 staff in two years and that the work is administratively complex: "This is probably one of the most administratively burdensome federal programs that I’ve ever seen," he told the committee. Committee members asked for follow‑up briefings, vendor impact analyses, and a timeline for standing up permitting and rights‑of‑way services before authorizing large state subsidies for satellite service.