Colorado Broadband Funding Program is Almost Four Times Oversubscribed

The Colorado Broadband Office received 112 applications from 37 entities requesting broadband funding through the Advance Colorado Broadband grant program. The total funding requested totals $643 million, which is almost four times more than the $162 million budgeted for the program. The network operators requesting the funding offered to contribute a total of almost $312 million in matching funds for projects in 47 counties. Thirty counties received one application, and 17 counties received more than one. Larimer County received the most applications (18), followed by El Paso County (12), and Pueblo County (9). Two counties—Grand and La Plata—received six applications. There were 17 counties that didn’t receive any applications. The majority of the applications—97%—are for fiber deployments. Just one percent are for wireless deployments, and 2% are for hybrid deployments. The program targets areas lacking service at speeds of 25/3 Mbps. The funding came through the federal Capital Projects Fund.