Chief Operating Officer
Peñasco Valley Telephone Cooperative, Inc.
Artesia, New Mexico, United States
Mitch Hibbard, Chief Operating Officer of Peñasco Valley Telephone Cooperative (PVT), brings more than 27 years of experience leading rural broadband operations and fiber network expansion in New Mexico.
As COO, Mitch oversees engineering, construction, and operational strategy for PVT, a member-owned cooperative founded in 1949 serving some of the state’s most remote and high-cost communities. He has been directly involved in deploying fiber-to-the-premise infrastructure, improving network resiliency, and guiding the cooperative through major federal and state broadband programs, including BEAD and all five rounds of ReConnect.
Mitch works closely with policymakers, grant administrators, engineers, and local leaders to align funding, compliance, and real-world deployment challenges. He is known for offering a practical, operations-focused perspective on sustainable rural fiber deployment. Outside of work, Mitch values time with his family and maintains a strong connection to agriculture through his involvement with cattle, grounding his leadership in the realities of rural life.
Local Advocacy and Legislative Partnerships in Rural Deployments
Monday, May 18, 2026
1:00 PM - 1:40 PM ET