Colorado

Governor Jared Polis (D-CO) announced the first of multiple investments using stimulus funding from the US Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund (CPF) program. The Polis administration will use $113 million from CPF to make major, long-term improvements, including expanding the state’s broadband infrastructure and connecting Colorado homes without internet access. CPF will connect nearly 19,000 homes and businesses across all of Colorado with these funds.

As part of an effort to accelerate the expansion of high-speed internet access, Colorado officials announced that broadband service providers can install fiber along the state’s roadways at a lower rate. The Colorado Transportation Commission approved a fee schedule that makes the Colorado Department of Transportation’s property available for broadband development. Under the new fiber access fee schedule, broadband providers can pay $0.10 per foot of fiber optic line in urban counties with populations above 200,000 people and $0.03 per foot in rural counties.

Colorado is a bit of an enigma. It’s home to numerous dense and high population areas including the Denver/Boulder metro area, Fort Collins to the north and Colorado Springs to the south.

Pulse—the city’s community-owned, cutting-edge internet network—has reached a milestone with the completion of its Loveland capital construction. With an investment of nearly $110 million and a meticulously managed four-year timeline, Pulse’s network construction stands as the largest capital project in the city’s history. Persevering through the challenges posed by a global pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and severe inflation, the project crossed the finish line on time and on budget, thanks to the unwavering determination of over 250 local Pulse employees and contractors.

The Southern Ute Indian Tribe has completed the first phase of a $60 million, 300-mile-plus fiber optic broadband internet project that will ultimately deliver high-speed internet services to over 5,000 homes across the Southern Ute Reservation. Tribal Councilor Stacey Oberly said 52 miles of fiber have been installed, and fiber connecting Durango’s Three Springs neighborhood to the town of Ignacio is undergoing testing. Jeff Engman of Southern Ute Shared Services said through the second phase, which will serve 2,800 households, including homes along Highway 151 to Pagosa Springs, is now un

This paper examines how the quality of Internet service from existing providers is affected when voters in Colorado approve referenda eliminating a barrier to their local governments providing broadband service. Using a difference-in-differences framework, the research design exploits variation in the timing of a community’s approval of a referendum in order to examine whether incumbent private providers adjust their speed offerings in response to the signal that public entry is more likely.

The Federal Communications Commission committed $37.7 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program, which provides digital tools and services to support students in communities across the country. This funding commitment supports applications from the third application window, benefitting approximately 100,000 students nationwide, including students in Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington.

The Colorado Broadband Office received 112 applications from 37 entities requesting broadband funding through the Advance Colorado Broadband grant program. The total funding requested totals $643 million, which is almost four times more than the $162 million budgeted for the program. The network operators requesting the funding offered to contribute a total of almost $312 million in matching funds for projects in 47 counties. Thirty counties received one application, and 17 counties received more than one.

The Federal Communications Commission committed $37.7 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program, which provides digital tools and services to support students in communities across the country. This funding commitment supports applications from the third application window, benefitting approximately 100,000 students nationwide, including students in Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington. This funding commitment supports approximately 220 schools and school districts, 2 library systems, and 4 consortia.