By KRWG News
Otero County – A southern New Mexico communication cooperative has been awarded more than $435,000 in federal funds to expand access to broadband services.
The grant will allow Dell Telephone Cooperative to provide broadband Internet and improved phone service to residents in a rural area between Cloudcroft and Timberon. The grant is one of dozens that were announced Wednesday around the country.
Sen. Jeff Bingaman, a New Mexico Democrat, says expanding broadband technology is good for New Mexico's long-term economic security.
Fellow Democrat Sen. Tom Udall says rural New Mexico deserves the same access to broadband that larger cities have.
Dell Telephone Cooperative is a nonprofit communication provider that covers parts of southern New Mexico and West Texas.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.