BEAD Program

Colorado has secured $420.6 million in federal funding from the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program to expand high-speed internet.

The money will be used to bring reliable broadband access to over 96,000 Coloradans in rural and underserved areas, moving the state closer to its goal of connecting 99% of all residents. Governor Jared Polis called the historic investment critical for ensuring Coloradans can work, learn, and access healthcare.

As part of the BEAD process the CBO requested public comment on the Final Proposal before submission to the NTIA. The public comment period was held to promote transparency and gather feedback from all of CBO’s stakeholders. As part of our commitment to transparency, the CBO has released a summary of feedback received.

The CBO submitted our Final Proposal for the BEAD grant awards to the NTIA on Wednesday, Sept. 3. The BEAD Final Proposal details the projects we have selected for funding from the NTIA’s Benefit of the Bargain Round, specifying the areas that will receive BEAD funding to add or improve high-speed, reliable internet access. The NTIA will now review our proposal and either approve or revise our BEAD awards.

A visual representation of the proposed CBO BEAD awards is below.

The Final Proposal details the outcomes of the NTIA’s Benefit of the Bargain Round of applications, presenting a map of areas in Colorado that will receive BEAD funding, information on awarded providers, and proposed funding amounts. Colorado intends to connect 48% of eligible locations via fiber, 50% through low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite, and 2% using wireless providers. 

The NTIA has released a Restructuring Policy Notice for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. The Colorado Broadband Office is aware of this guidance and is currently reviewing it. We will communicate the next steps for the BEAD program soon.  

We greatly appreciate the effort BEAD applicants put forth in Round 1 and Round 2 and look forward to continuing to work together to connect Coloradans as quickly as possible. 

Potential BEAD applicants can now access the BEAD application in the Advance Colorado Broadband Grant Portal, as well as the timelines, key documents and information needed to apply on the Advance-BEAD page of our site.

The CBO is traveling around the state to host a Summer Roadshow, where we will meet with broadband decision-makers and partners in every region. During the sessions a representative from the CBO will discuss all things broadband, including funding, mapping, broadband readiness, community engagement and digital equity. In addition, the CBO will cover updates specific to each locale. 

Check out the 2024 schedule.

We had a highly productive year in 2023. We announced Capital Projects Fund (CPF) awards, received an allocation of $826.5 million from the Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program and passed significant legislation that removes barriers to investing federal dollars, among many more things. These accomplishments were made possible by partnerships with broadband stakeholders across the state, and are highlighted in our Colorado Broadband Office (CBO) 2023 Report. There is a lot of progress to celebrate!

The Colorado Broadband Office (CBO) is excited to announce our 2024 Broadband Roadshow happening this summer. We’re looking forward to getting on the road to meet with local communities to discuss all things Colorado broadband. On this tour, we would like to address the subjects that are more relevant for you and your community.  

The “challenge phase” of the Advance-BEAD Challenge Process ran from Jan. 10 to Feb. 9, 2024. During that time approximately 21,950 locations were challenged. The CBO will send rebuttal notifications in the next two weeks and ISPs have 30 calendar days from notification of a challenge to provide a rebuttal. We aim to make final determinations of location eligibility in early May. For more information please visit the Advance-BEAD Challenge Portal.