Judith Kohler
400-Mile Fiber-Optic Network Goes Online in Colorado
A 400-mile fiber network built to provide broadband Internet access to 14 mountain communities across northwest Colorado officially went online the week of April 6. The Northwest Colorado Council of Governments has spearheaded the work, dubbed Project Thor. The loop starts in Denver and runs west, using Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) fiber along Interstate 70 and a combination of fiber services going north through Meeker, Craig, Steamboat Springs and Grand County.
Tired of waiting for broadband, rural communities are tapping grants, partnerships to get modern internet
Outside the Interstate 25 and 70 corridors in Colorado, where great distances and low populations make providing internet more expensive, there can be wide variations of service and coverage. State officials say 87% of rural Colorado has access to broadband, but that number comes with asterisks. State and federal officials acknowledge that more precise mapping is needed to pinpoint which areas need to be brought up to speed.