Broadband project ends frequent blackouts in Gallup and McKinley County (NM)

The New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion announced that a critical broadband project designed to eliminate high-speed internet outages in Gallup and surrounding McKinley County is complete. The project’s completion is the result of a partnership between OBAE, Lumen Technologies, and Ethos Broadband and means tens of thousands of residents in Gallup and McKinley County will no longer see frequent high-speed internet blackouts. The main broadband connection from Albuquerque into Gallup is owned by Lumen Technologies, but fiber line cuts have disrupted service 11 times in the past 11 years. In March 2024, OBAE committed $500,000 to establish resiliency and contracted with Ethos Broadband to construct redundant connectivity via an alternate route. Ethos Broadband had built a separate fiber path through Gallup to serve its customers and the Navajo Nation. Lumen is leasing that Ethos Broadband route for its communications traffic, establishing a backup system for its main fiber line. The completed work means the region has a secondary communications connection, so service will not be affected should the main line be cut. The project paves the way for a more connected and resilient community and demonstrates how similar projects could benefit other vulnerable areas in New Mexico.