— in expenses

During 2024, Borderplex Connect launched a comprehensive digital fluency program aimed at low-income households and rural communities. To enable this programming, Borderplex Connect established a series of learning outcomes for class participants through hands-on curriculum tailored for the Borderplex region, designed marketing material and a registration process for these classes, established partnerships with trusted entities in the community to promote our classes and provide space for the delivery of these classes, selected bilingual digital navigators to lead these classes, and established a digital device bank for learners. These series of basic digital skills classes were offered at a community center in San Elizario, Texas, and at an affordable housing complex in the 79901 zip code, one of the poorest zip codes in the U.S. Borderplex Connect continued to build partnerships with other entities in Far West Texas and Southern New Mexico and, through coalition building and data analysis, successfully participated in the both the NM and TX BEAD Challenge Process. In 2024, Borderplex Connect was selected as one of four awardees for technical assistance from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Broadband Buildout Initiative. Activities under the Affordable Connectivity Program closed out in 2024 in accordance with the wind-down order issued by the Federal Communications Commission.