sa国际传媒官网网页入口

Stretched out, the fiber delivered to schools around New Mexico could reach from sa国际传媒官网网页入口 to Houston.

On Monday, the Office of Broadband Access and Expansion announced it is launching the New Mexico Statewide Education Network (SEN) 鈥� a more than $100 million project to bring free internet to public and charter schools throughout the state. Almost 900 miles of fiber have been delivered in an effort to digitally connect districts.

鈥淭his has been a mammoth undertaking, and we鈥檙e very excited that the network is finally alive,鈥� Ovidiu Viorica, SEN鈥檚 Broadband and Technology manager, said. 鈥淭his is an extraordinary achievement that will see productive returns for our children and our state. What鈥檚 happening today is a signal that New Mexico is truly looking to the future.鈥�

To start, the Gadsden Independent School District in Santa Teresa and three sa国际传媒官网网页入口 charter schools 鈥� 21st Century Public Academy, Mark Armijo Academy and Mountain Mahogany Community School 鈥� will be linked to the network. The state鈥檚 Office of Broadband Access and Expansion aims to bring all New Mexico schools online by 2027.

According to a news release, dozens of schools around the state already have opted into the program.

Nearly 15,000 students in these schools will be the first to access the new network. The schools were chosen to go first because they already have infrastructure in place and are 鈥渇avorable technologically.鈥�

Some $100 million in federal dollars and $5 million in state capital outlay are heading toward the project.

Sam Snoddy, executive director of technology at Gadsden Independent School Districts, knows well the challenges when a school district lacks reliable internet. Although the district now has some of the 鈥渉ighest quality internet鈥� in the state, it wasn鈥檛 always that way, he said.

In the district, 5,000 out of 12,000 students didn鈥檛 have home internet before the pandemic, Snoddy said. The district is spread out, with many families living in rural or unincorporated areas. During the pandemic, access issues became apparent.

鈥淭heir choices for internet were satellite,鈥� Snoddy said. 鈥淎t the time, it was running $160 per month for less than 10 megabytes of service.鈥�

The district tried giving out hotspots, but cell service was unreliable in some parts. So for students without internet access, their parents had to drive to schools to pick up printed packets, and students struggled to have even email interactions with their teachers, let alone video conferences.

Ironically, Snoddy said, the district had given out Chromebooks to students before the pandemic, only to find out that many students had no way to use them at home.

Starting in summer 2022, the district started work on a broadband project. Construction recently concluded, Snoddy said. It鈥檚 free home internet for families with a student in the district, and so far, between 2,000 and 3,000 families have signed up.

鈥淲e were stuck in 19th-century schooling,鈥� Snoddy said. 鈥�... By providing (internet access) to our families, we literally moved them to the 21st century.鈥�

Although Gadsden is in a good place now, Snoddy said, other districts in the state are still struggling. But if enough districts sign onto the state network, increasing the customer base, he thinks more companies will be incentivized to bid.

Bidding started in 2021 and is happening in phases.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the day the program was launched. It was launched Monday, July 1.