Rural students in Rio Arriba County get access to broadband

More than 170 rural students in the Española Public Schools now have access to high-speed internet following the completion of a state-funded broadband project in Rio Arriba County (NM). The Office of Broadband Access and Expansion awarded Ethos Broadband, an internet service provider headquartered in Albuquerque, a $1.3 million Student Connect grant to build broadband infrastructure to connect 173 rural students in the school district. The Student Connect program is specifically designed to bring internet access to the households of rural students and school staff, many of whom only have access to high-speed internet while at school. The grant allowed Ethos Broadband to construct a wireless tower, fixed wireless infrastructure, and receivers for the designated student homes in hard-to-reach parts of the Española region. OBAE awarded Ethos Broadband the grant in February 2025. Student households can now sign up to receive the fixed wireless internet service. The project also stipulates that students and school staff will receive up to three years of free internet.