en.Wedoany.com Reported - Kit Carson Electric Cooperative, Inc. has received a $100,000 planning grant to advance broadband access planning for three unincorporated communities in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico.

The funding comes from the Grant Writing, Engineering, and Planning Program (GWEP) established by the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (OBAE). GWEP provides a total of $5 million in funding, aimed at assisting cooperatives, tribal communities, and local governments in securing grants to extend broadband services to underserved areas.

Kit Carson plans to use the grant to assess broadband needs and facilitate future high-speed internet deployment in the three rural communities north of Española: Hernandez, Chamita, and Alcalde. Specifically, the cooperative will complete broadband engineering, network feasibility, and availability studies for these three locations, and identify existing broadband service gaps.

This is the second GWEP grant received by the cooperative, which previously secured similar funding in fall 2025. To date, OBAE has awarded 40 GWEP grants to multiple entities, covering 18 tribal communities, 17 local governments, and 5 rural electric and telephone cooperatives. Approximately $955,000 remains available in the GWEP funding pool for applications, with a maximum grant cap of $100,000 per award under the program and no matching funds required. Planning grants must be used for broadband infrastructure project planning within New Mexico, and internet service providers are not eligible to apply.

Jeff Lopez, Director of OBAE, stated that this planning grant will play a critical role in ensuring the reliability and sustainability of broadband infrastructure construction in these rural unincorporated areas, helping Kit Carson obtain the necessary information to achieve future connectivity.