Broadband Development Conference
Connect New Mexico, Deputy Director
Aquiles Trujillo has more than 20 years of broadband and telecommunications leadership experience, including previous experience with OBAE in 2022, where he directed the statewide Technical Assistance Program and authored key components of New Mexico’s Middle Mile Strategy. Trujillo owned and operated his own venture capital-backed MSP between 2005-2008, serving more than 35,000 internet customers. Trujillo has served as a broadband consultant and Project Manager where he worked closely with stakeholders across New Mexico to identify areas of need, developed broadband infrastructure, and promoted digital literacy. He helped advocate for policies that promoted broadband access, provided technical assistance to communities and service providers, and administered grant programs to support broadband expansion. For nearly seven years, Trujillo served as Chief Information Officer for bigbyte.cc Corp. where he managed all operations and supervised teams. Before that he was a Partner of Realize Communications for 10 years. Trujillo holds a bachelor’s degree from New Mexico State University and attended the University of Denver. He was born and raised in Belen, New Mexico and lives in Albuquerque.
As BEAD funding moves from awards to active construction, many of the most difficult challenges are only now emerging. This panel moves beyond policy and program design to focus on the realities of execution – what it actually takes to translate BEAD awards into deployed, compliant, and auditable broadband networks. Panelists will share on-the-ground lessons from early deployment efforts, including permitting and environmental reviews, labor and supply-chain constraints, subcontractor management, and the growing complexity of state and federal reporting requirements. The discussion will also explore how gaps between construction activity, compliance documentation, and financial controls can lead to reimbursement delays, audit findings, or potential claw backs – and how leading teams are structuring governance and oversight to mitigate those risks in real time. Designed for state broadband offices, ISPs, tribes, and delivery partners, this session offers a candid, practitioner-level view of what is working, what is slowing projects down, and how execution models are evolving as BEAD enters its most consequential phase.
