[1st-mile-nm] Baca Valley Telephone Co.: Story
Richard Lowenberg
rl at 1st-mile.com
Wed Jul 17 12:02:34 PDT 2013
A recent story on the USDA RUS web site,
on stimulus support of BVT.
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http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/STELPRD4021038.html
BACA VALLEY TELEPHONE COMPANY BRINGS BROADBAND TO RURAL NEW MEXICO
June 24, 2013
Need:
Incorporated in 1974, Baca Valley Telephone Company (BVT) received its
first loan from USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) in 1979. This loan
funded the construction of a new headquarters facility, burying hundreds
of miles of cable and installing two new switches in Des Moines and
Maxwell. BVT has received several Infrastructure Loans from RUS over
time, totaling over $4.5 million.
BVT wanted to extend a fiber optic network in the rural northeastern
part of New Mexico. The company wants to meet the need for present and
future bandwidth requirements by placing fiber to nodes in close
proximity of the rural subscribers. The funded fiber build-out will
replaces an old and deteriorating copper plant and low bandwidth
microwave transport in some areas and provides new connectivity in
others. With an expected life of 30 years, this fiber will provide a
solid framework for providing the bandwidth needs of the future.
How Rural Development Helped:
In 2010, BVT received a Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) loan/grant
combination from RUS. The grant was for $1,586,000 and the loan was for
$1,651,000. The award funded fiber optic connectivity to a number of new
cabinets and existing
buildings. In addition, they deployed a last mile access system
intended to provide broadband services to households and businesses in
the northeast area of New Mexico
Results:
Today, BVT has a service area covering more than 2,600 square miles. In
addition to residential service in the Des Moines and Maxwell exchanges,
they provide cellular service, local Internet access, business telephone
systems, security systems, and network cabling throughout northeastern
New Mexico and southeastern Colorado. All construction on the project
funded through BIP has been completed and their new broadband service is
in place.
The Des Moines and Maxwell Schools are also enjoying the improved
broadband service, as are the two Rural Health Care Facilities, located
at the schools. One of the goals of this project was to improve overall
service to the most remote ranches and farms. These new services also
allow for more children to return home and work on the family farms,
ranches, and businesses. The addition of new Central Office broadband
equipment is giving BVT the ability to expand services beyond the
initial installation. This summer, they plan to install new fiber optic
cable and broadband equipment at a Federal Wildlife Refuge near Maxwell,
New Mexico. The expanded fiber facilities are also able to greatly
improve bandwidth to many of BVT’s existing remote cabinets and in fact
replaced several of them with newer, more modern equipment.
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Richard Lowenberg, Executive Dir.
1st-Mile Institute, 505-603-5200
P.O.Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
www.1st-mile.org rl at 1st-mile.org
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