Colorado

The Colorado Broadband Office (CBO) has drafted the following document to meet the requirements for Volume 1 of its Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Initial Proposal. The CBO will commence a 30-day period for public comments on Volume 1 of the Initial Proposal. Volume 1 of the Initial Proposal includes the following requirements:

The Federal Communications Commission committed nearly $7 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) Program, which provides digital tools and services to support students in communities across the country. The funding commitment supports applications from the third application window, benefitting approximately 50,000 students nationwide, including students in California, Colorado, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Since the late 1990s Colorado has tried to expand access to high-speed broadband. It’s been done in starts and stops, and sometimes not at all. Now Colorado is getting a huge amount of federal money, more than $826 million in Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding that was part of the 2021 infrastructure law to help expand broadband internet across the state and the country.

In July 2023, wireless and broadband provider Vistabeam acquired Airbits, which served the towns of Estes Park and Pole Hill, which are in Colorado’s Front Range area. Vistabeam also established a digital empowerment Center in Yuma, Colorado. The move into Colorado’s Front Range area is a sign that fixed wireless access (FWA) technology is maturing. The acquisition includes 25 towers. Vistabeam’s footprint is 40,000 square miles and covers more than 100 towns in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming.

Broadband plays a pivotal role in facilitating essential activities for residents and fostering societal advancements across various domains, including economic development, healthcare, public safety, government services, and education. The federal government is embarking on an unprecedented investment in broadband, allocating over $100 billion nationwide.

Ting Internet's (a division of Tucows) 2-gigabit fiber internet is now available in initial Colorado Springs (CO) neighborhoods. Customers in Colorado Springs will now be able to sign up for Ting's 2-gigabit fiber internet for $89 per month, providing both download and upload speeds of 2,000 megabits per second (Mbps). Ting will also offer 2-gigabit symmetrical internet to all Colorado Springs residents who qual

Fixed wireless is "absolutely part of the equation” for Colorado’s Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding plans, according to Brandy Reitter, executive director of the state’s broadband office.