In New Mexico, only 77 percent of households have a broadband subscription, according to a  census report released in April, though some industry observers think the numbers are actually lower. That compares with 85 percent nationally. And even for those who are connected, the service doesn’t come cheap. Only 13 percent of New Mexico’s population has access to a low-price internet service plan, according to Broadband Now, a research group.

The state’s rugged landscape, its patchwork of state, federal and tribal land ownership, and the minimal coordination between internet providers and government agencies combine to keep New Mexico consistently near the bottom on national surveys measuring internet access in homes.

When New Mexico’s children were suddenly required to attend school via the internet in March 2020, it went badly for many of them. Families spent the school day in fast-food parking lots, outside libraries or on top of mesas trying to catch a signal. Some students were never heard from for the rest of that school year. And those who could connect were often plagued by slow download speeds and frequently interrupted service. Versions of the same story played out across rural America, making the problem impossible to ignore.

“It’s not so audacious to sit here and say that as we come out of this pandemic, we are going to decide that every student in this country gets the internet access that they need to fully support their education and succeed in school,” said Jessica Rosenworcel, the acting chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which regulates U.S. interstate and international communications.

Under pressure from all sides to finally achieve the goals outlined in the 2010 National Broadband Plan, the FCC continues to roll out programs and funding to get the whole country online. The most recent funding, $7 billion available to schools and libraries, was made through the FCC’s Emergency Connectivity Fund and targets the “homework gap” that will persist long after kids return to in-person schooling. The Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure bill would invest an additional $65 billion, less than the $100 billion President Joe Biden initially proposed, toward the expansion of high-speed broadband across the country. Just this week, the House said it would vote before Sept. 27.

Read the full article about rural areas need broadband access by William Melhado at The Hechinger Report.