The September Lunch & Learn webinar featured Josh Cramer, Network Architect for Trailblazer Broadband in Estes Park. He shared Estes Park's story of starting up a municipal broadband utility from scratch, establishing a multi-municipality wide area network in the Front Range, and maintaining upstream connectivity in a mountain town through a variety of natural disasters.
The August Lunch & Learn webinar featured Bob Fifer from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) with an update about the work CDOT is doing around the state to support broadband infrastructure.
Today the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the award of a $10.5 million grant to Delta Montrose Electric Association (DMEA) to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network in rural Colorado. The funded service area includes 2,410 households, 6,877 people, three educational facilities, 89 businesses and 115 farms spread over 126 square miles.
Read the USDA Press Release
The recording is now available for the July 30 Lunch & Learn webinar on Federal funding programs for deployment and adoption. The webinar featured Teresa Ferguson, Director of Federal Broadband Engagement, discussing the broadband funding programs federal agencies are rapidly launching to expand broadband deployment and adoption, as a result of federal stimulus funding, and how the federal infrastructure bill could impact the future of broadband availability in Colorado.
On July 19, the Broadband Advisory Board announced the release of its inaugural annual report, highlighting its first six months and priorities for the year ahead as it works to bring fast, reliable and affordable broadband service to all Coloradans.
The CBO had a monumental legislative year! Three major pieces of legislation will impact the structure and funding of broadband support from the state—HB21-1109, HB21-1289 and SB21-060—and a few additional bills had components that touch on broadband. Full details on each bill can be found here.
Outreach for our fall data collection cycle has begun! The data submission deadline is September 3, 2021. Please contact us to verify your company’s point of contact to ensure your company participates in our data collection.
What's new this year?
Our process remains the same, however the recently passed HB21-1109 changes the participation and data granularity requirements.
On May 10, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the launch of the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, established by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, to provide $350 billion in emergency funding for eligible state, local, territorial and Tribal governments. Funding may be used to make necessary investments that provide unserved or underserved locations with new or expanded broadband access.
The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act of 2021 includes several provisions that address broadband deployment, digital inclusion, and broadband affordability through direct appropriations to federal agencies. This means the funding will not come directly to the state, so Colorado’s benefit from these nationally competitive programs will depend on applications from qualifying consumers, internet service providers, or local and state agencies.