Industry Spotlight: NMFN Prepares to Light Up

“Three years ago, we covered the early planning behind New Mexico Fiber Network (NMFN), which aimed to unify rural, regional providers into a scalable, independent network.”  Today, NMFN is about to light up a stand alone midde-mile network to help serve the communications needs of the region. NMFN brings together a set of rural, regional providers to assemble an independent statewide network.  New Mexico itself has long been bypassed by most national infrastructure players.  But that is changing, and the state’s unique charms are starting to bring it some infrastructure attention.  To see where things are now and where they are headed, we had a chat with NMFN Chairman Jim Meyers, with some additional bits from CEO David Jimenez, and COO Jerimiah Cole.

TR: Jim, what is your background and what was your journey to your current role at NMFN?

Jim Meyers:

My path into telecommunications started early. In junior high, I wanted to buy a motorcycle, so I spent my summers working for my father, a contractor who installed telecommunications equipment in rural areas. That hands-on experience sparked my interest in communications infrastructure. After serving in the U.S. Air Force maintaining guidance systems for nuclear missiles, I returned home intending to work temporarily in telecom—but I never left. That “temporary” job became a lifelong career.

Over the decades, I’ve had the opportunity to witness and lead through the industry’s transformation—from electromechanical systems to the digital networks we rely on today. One of the pivotal points in my career was working with Syringa Networks, a middle-mile fiber company in Idaho founded by a group of independent rural telecom providers. That experience laid the groundwork for my current role in New Mexico.

When I joined PVT and relocated to New Mexico, I wasn’t initially aware of our involvement in a statewide middle-mile initiative. NMFN was already underway, with a business plan in place. I stepped in as chair around the time the organization was preparing a grant application to the NTIA and assumed leadership from the previous CEO. When we didn’t receive the grant, we returned to the original vision and refined our approach.

Since then, NMFN has seen a few membership changes and structural adjustments, but the mission remains unchanged: to build the critical middle-mile infrastructure New Mexico urgently needs. Our state consistently ranks near the bottom in education, economic well-being, and public safety. It’s well established that broadband access improves those outcomes. That’s what drives our work—not just better connectivity, but a better future for New Mexicans.

 

TR: How is NMFN organized, and what types of opportunities are you targeting?

JM:

NMFN is organized as a collaborative, stand-alone middle-mile network built by independent rural broadband providers. Our structure is intentionally lean and mission-driven—we’re not operating on a revenue-sharing model among members. Instead, we’ve committed to reinvesting all profits back into the network until it becomes appropriate to consider future dividends. Our primary objective is to serve our communities and the state of New Mexico, many parts of which remain unserved or underserved by current providers.

Some carriers in the state focus primarily on high-density, high-return markets. While that may be good for short-term profits, it often leaves rural and remote communities behind. NMFN was created to help close that gap by leveraging our collective fiber investments, linking them together, and lighting up a unified, resilient, and adaptable network that prioritizes long-term value over short-term gains.

We’ve now reached a critical milestone. All financial commitments have been made, in-kind infrastructure contributions are in place, and we’re preparing to install the core equipment and officially activate the network. At the same time, we’re actively engaged with exploring public-private partnerships to expand broadband access. We see NMFN as a natural fit for that vision.

Beyond public-sector partnerships, we’re also responding to growing market demand. Many areas across the state still lack redundant paths for internet connectivity—posing risks to reliability. NMFN is positioned to provide the robust middle-mile backbone necessary to support evolving network needs.

TR: What does the network infrastructure you are lighting up look like today?  What is left to do?

JM:

The core of NMFN’s network infrastructure is already in place. Our member companies collectively own and operate the majority of the fiber needed to create a robust ring around the state of New Mexico. This foundational infrastructure gives us a strong head start. We’re now working with additional carrier partners to fill in the remaining segments using existing dark fiber assets, ensuring a fully connected and redundant statewide backbone.

In addition to building a resilient in-state ring, NMFN’s network extends beyond New Mexico’s borders into Arizona and Texas. This regional reach opens up important opportunities for peering with other networks and establishing direct connections to major data centers, which is critical for both performance and economic development.

We’ve reached the stage where we’re preparing to install the necessary transport equipment and light up the network. Once operational, this infrastructure will support not only broadband delivery but also future-focused services like cloud connectivity, education network backbones, and mobile backhaul. A detailed map of our current and planned fiber routes is available on the NMFN website for those who want a closer look at the footprint.

Jerimiah Cole: Most of our members already have existing interconnects, and we’re adding some relatively low-capacity Ethernet transport circuits and things like that. What NMFN is really bringing to the table the formalizing of those relationships and aggregating all of those smaller providers together into one larger network so that we can present a single face to anybody who would want to order or circuits or other services within the state. So we are taking those existing interconnects and upgrading them with the new equipment so that we are on a stronger footing to provide services going forward.  Once we actually have all the equipment in place and lit, provisioning will get a lot simpler. Our individual members are still going to be responsible for the last mile component, but we’ll still be aggregating the billing.

TR: To what extent are you building greenfield fiber routes versus piecing together existing infrastructure?

JC: We don’t have any specific plans to build fiber currently. We are focusing on getting our core membership connected with the higher capacity and being able to deliver services on that network. Once we’re up and running, I definitely foresee us wanting to build fiber where it makes sense. We expect to be in positions where there’s going to be areas we can’t reach or we don’t have sufficient capacity, and then we’re going to have to do those builds.

TR: What types of projects are you seeing traction with so far?

JM:

We’re already seeing significant traction as awareness of NMFN grows. Carriers that have struggled to access certain regions or are looking to add redundancy into their networks are reaching out to explore how we can work together. These conversations are exactly the kind of collaboration we envisioned—leveraging our infrastructure to open up underserved or hard-to-reach areas.

In addition to inquiries from other carriers, we’re also fielding interest from local and state government entities who are looking for solutions to support educational networks, community institutions, and economic development initiatives. They see NMFN as a potential partner in achieving broader connectivity goals.

Ultimately, our mission is to improve the networking landscape across New Mexico, and that means being a connector—not just of fiber routes, but of opportunities, partners, and communities. The interest we’re receiving reflects a real demand for what we’re building and affirms that NMFN is becoming a critical part of the state’s digital future.

TR: What does New Mexico have to offer to the next generation of infrastructure builders?

JC: New Mexico has a lot of renewable power investment going on. It is hot, sunny, and windy here, and those pockets of renewable energy are really attractive for data center providers because it’s relatively inexpensive. Those areas are extremely rural, and I expect we’ll have some fiber builds to meet those needs.

JM:

We’re already seeing increased interest—almost weekly—from groups exploring data center development or looking to establish new points of presence in the state. In fact, we currently have a proposal under review from a provider evaluating a location that would only require a modest buildout on our part. That’s a great example of how our network is positioned to enable new infrastructure quickly and efficiently.

As New Mexico continues to improve its broadband foundation, it’s becoming a more viable—and appealing—location for long-term digital investment. For infrastructure builders with vision, the state represents a ground-floor opportunity to shape something meaningful and lasting.

David Jimenez: I think that New Mexico is finally coming into its own.  A request I formally saw in Lee County was for that ghost city the federal government built.  Out here, some landowners own hundreds of acres of land, which is attractive for that type of investment. I don’t think that’s let up.  New Mexico does get a lot of that type of ‘under the radar’ type of business. NMFN is going to be making waves, allowing us to interconnect with a state educational network. And it is a little dovetail that BEAD is getting pushed out at about the same time. NMFN is well positioned to take advantage of all of that. Trust is the reason that this thing came together. The co-ops that are the members of this team right now trust each other to do business in a good way. We trust each other’s presence in our COs.

TR: How close do you think you are to taking advantage of the opportunity?

DJ: Building a state network has been a 30-plus year quest in New Mexico. The challenge was in keeping the flame alive.  But now that it has been lit, the fruition is going to come when this fiber network that Jeremiah is putting together for the membership is finally put in place. We’ve got a sort of mosaic type network right now. There is enough need that we’ve actually onboarded customers even without the fully native NMFN fiber network that we’re building today. That network is going to be forthcoming, maybe end of third quarter or so, ideally.

JM:

One analogy I like to use is what happens when you bring fiber to a residential neighborhood—it raises property values. The same principle applies at the statewide level. By building out middle-mile fiber, we’re increasing the overall value and viability of New Mexico as a destination for digital investment.

Whether it’s for government initiatives, educational networks, healthcare, or private-sector projects like data centers and new service providers, our infrastructure becomes the foundation that enables those opportunities. We’re not just preparing for future demand—we’re actively positioning the state to capitalize on it. And with NMFN nearing full activation, I’d say we’re right on the edge of turning that potential into reality.

TR: Once you have the network lit, what types of customers will you target yourselves and how will you approach them?

JM:

Our primary focus is on carrier wholesale—we’re not entering the last-mile space ourselves. However, through our member organizations, we do have access to last-mile capabilities, which can be leveraged to create comprehensive solutions when needed.

We’ll be targeting regional and national carriers, cloud providers, government networks, education systems, and others that need reliable, high-capacity middle-mile transport across New Mexico and into adjacent markets like Arizona and Texas.

We’re also leveraging our membership in INDATEL, which provides a national reach and relationships with other independent broadband providers across the country. Additionally, we plan to utilize Connectbase to expand our visibility and streamline how customers discover, quote, and connect with our network. We’re aligning the timing carefully to coincide with the network going live so we can hit the ground running.

Our approach is strategic and partner-focused—we want to be the infrastructure provider that others build on, not compete with. The goal is to create long-term value by being the best middle-mile partner in the region.

JC: Yes, there is carrier wholesale internet as well as carrier wholesale ethernet transport, and we’re also looking at IP transit services to drive down costs for our members. Wavelength services are definitely on the table as well. And because we have collectively about 1,600-1,700 miles of fiber in this project, dark fiber may be on the roadmap too, but we don’t expect there to be a lot of demand for that. One example customer project we are working on right now is a large healthcare provider that recently purchased some facilities here in the southern part of the state. They want high-speed connectivity to connect back to their offices in west Texas as well to help support rural healthcare. We will also be partnering with the state’s education network for services in education. And we just did quotes for a large convenience store chain that’s connecting all of their offices together with higher capacity services than they have been using.

TR: Do you have any other projects planned for once the network is lit?

JM: We are also looking to use this network to consolidate our voice switching as well.

JC: We haven’t been focusing on it yet, but it’s definitely on everybody’s radar and all of the member owners are definitely interested in doing that. We don’t have a solid time frame for it yet, but I think it will be next year.

TR: Is all funding coming from the member companies or are you tapping the private equity or debt markets?

JM:

All of our funding to date has come from our member companies. We’ve been intentional about keeping this a member-driven initiative, and our current business model is fully capitalized without the need for outside equity or debt. That allows us to stay focused on our mission and reinvest directly into the network.

That said, we’re not opposed to exploring outside funding if a transformational opportunity presents itself—something that exceeds our current capital capacity but aligns with our long-term goals. But at this stage, we’re on track to accomplish what we set out to do using internal resources, and that’s our strong preference.

TR: Thank you for talking with Telecom Ramblings!

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Categories: Fiber Networks · Industry Spotlight · Metro fiber