The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approved Colorado’s Digital Access Plan, which outlines how to make internet access affordable, provide devices and offer essential digital skills training to empower Coloradans for a brighter, more connected future.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced the release of its Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for State Digital Equity Capacity Grants. This means Colorado's Digital Equity Team is currently working hard to apply for State Digital Equity Act Capacity Grant funds.
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 2024 Colorado Broadband Data Collection is now open. The CBO requests that internet service providers (ISPs) in Colorado provide confirmation of their Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Broadband Data Collection (BDC) filing submissions depicting broadband service availability as of December 31, 2023, in addition to other submission details for 2024 Colorado Broadband Data Collection.
The Colorado Broadband Office today announced additional grants using stimulus funding from the U.S. Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund (CPF) program.
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.
As if the ACP running out of funding isn’t bad enough news, our office has learned of scammers misusing the ACP and targeting low-income households with deceptive tactics.
As a reminder, without additional funding from Congress, the allotted $14.2 billion to fund the ACP is projected to run out in April 2024. As a result, the FCC has begun taking steps to wind down the ACP, and is ceasing enrollment this Wednesday, Feb. 7.
The Advance-BEAD Challenge window closes at 11:59 p.m. MT on Friday, Feb. 9. Registered users must submit challenges by the deadline.
Not registered yet?
The deadline for ISPs, nonprofits, and local or Tribal governments to register for access to the Challenge Portal is this Wednesday, Feb. 7. If the CBO cannot verify your CostQuest License at that time, we will be unable to create an account in time for you to participate in the process.
Remember, this is the last chance we have to ensure the accuracy of our broadband map before BEAD is underway.
As part of the BEAD process the CBO requested public comment on both Initial Proposal Volume 1 and Initial Proposal Volume 2 before submission to the NTIA. The public comment period was held to promote transparency and gather feedback from all of CBO’s stakeholders.