<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div>Following is a short AP article posted today, which I think deserves some consideration</div><div>and productive follow-up discussion on this list. Below it is an excerpt from an article</div><div>posted just over one year ago. </div><div><br></div><div>My understanding and experience is that statewide schools' broadband and tech. surveys</div><div>have been repeatedly conducted over the past 8 years, to determine which are the most </div><div>in-need schools and what the costs would be. Where are survey results? What is the status </div><div>of last year's SB-159 funding allocation? Why will it take 3-5 more years to connect schools </div><div>to 1Mb access, as noted by Ovidiu Viorica? This is not broadband, and is not adequate.</div><div>This is not a matter of cost or technical difficulty. It is a matter of lack of will. </div><div><br></div><div>Broadband connecting all NM schools is a rapidly achievable initiative, bringing together</div><div>the State, telecom. providers, federal funding, community buy-in and shared networking</div><div>opportunities, with economically and socially benefiting win-win outcomes.</div><div>What's stopping us? </div><div><br></div><div>RL</div><div><br></div><div>------</div><div><br></div><b>State officials eye broadband in New Mexico rural schools</b><br><br><div>Created: 06/03/2015 <br>By: RUSSELL CONTRERAS Associated Press<div><br>SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - State officials say they hope to get broadband into most New Mexico schools by the end of the decade.<br>Ovidiu Viorica, who oversees a broadband program for the New Mexico Public Schools Facilities Authority, told a legislative committee on Tuesday that officials are still trying to determine the costs.</div><div><br>Viorica says officials are wrapping up a statewide survey to determine what rural school districts face challenges in getting broadband.<br>He says the goal is to get 1,000 kilobits per second for students and staff by 2018.</div><div><br>State officials say New Mexico still lags behind many states, including Utah and Mississippi, on broadband access in public schools.<br>Officials say broadband in schools is needed because of new online testing requirements and a changing world of teaching.</div><div><br>(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)</div><div><br></div><div>---------</div><div><br></div><div>March 10, 2014<br><br>Bill Signed to Invest $50 Million in Broadband Infrastructure for Public Schools<br><br>Santa Fe, NM – Governor Susana Martinez signed Senate Bill 159 (SB159), sponsored by Senator Jacob Candelaria (D-26-Bernalillo) and co-sponsored by Representative Mimi Stewart (D-21-Bernalillo). The bill will allow the Public School Capital Outlay Council (PSCOC) to expend up to $10 million annually for the next five fiscal years, to correct deficiencies in broadband infrastructure in schools statewide.</div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.nmsenate.com/2014/03/10/bill-signed-to-invest-50-million-into-technology-infrastructure-for-public-schools/">www.nmsenate.com/2014/03/10/bill-signed-to-invest-50-million-into-technology-infrastructure-for-public-schools/</a></div><div><br></div><div><br><div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div>---------------------------------------------------------</div><div>Richard Lowenberg, Executive Director</div><div>1st-Mile Institute <a href="http://www.1st-mile.org">www.1st-mile.org</a> </div><div>P. O. Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504</div><div>505-603-5200 <a href="mailto:rl@1st-mile.org">rl@1st-mile.org</a></div><div>---------------------------------------------------------</div></div><div><br></div></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
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