Colorado

Amplifying Investments with Colorado State Officials

In June 2023, Colorado Governor Jared Polis hosted an allocation celebration with Senator Michael Bennet, U.S. Representative Joe Neguse (CO-2), and State Representative Brianna Titone to highlight the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Notification of Allocation Announcement. The funds will be used to connect the 129,000 unserved broadband serviceable locations in Colorado.

Funding Community-Based Organizations

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Digital Equity Planning Grant has enabled the Office of Future of Work to award research dollars to over 20 community-based organizations conducting research in covered populations. This helped inform Colorado’s Digital Equity Plan.

Connecting the Southern Ute Indian Tribe

NTIA’s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) awarded the Southern Ute Indian Tribe $43.7 million to install fiber connecting over 500 unserved Native American households and anchor institutions.

Connecting the Ute Mountains

NTIA’s TBCP awarded the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe $22.7 million to install two middle mile routes across non-contiguous Tribal lands in two states. The project will build last mile fiber to connect over 800 homes and Tribal community anchor institutions.

Connecting with the Colorado Coalition for Indian Affairs

In partnership with NTIA and the Colorado Coalition for Indian Affairs, the Colorado Broadband Office successfully hosted Tribal Consultations with both the Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in August. These consultations materially affected the information in both the Digital Equity Plan development and the Initial Proposal for the BEAD grant.

Local Coordination Kick-Off

In April 2023, the Colorado Broadband Office, in partnership with NTIA, hosted a Local Coordination event, kicking off the BEAD and Digital Equity programs in Colorado. The two-day event was attended both online and in person by over 400 stakeholders across the state, with content ranging from workforce development to best practices for reviewing and identifying potential challenges to improve the accuracy of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Map.

Future Proofing with Aerial and Trenched Fiber

In June 2023, NTIA’s Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure (Middle Mile) Program awarded BIF IV Intrepid Opco LLC to deploy 78,129 feet of aerial fiber and 29,173 feet of trenched fiber. This will create a protected ring from the Pueblo, Colorado datacenter to six remote cabinets, connecting 41,074 homes and small businesses.