Colorado will miss its goal to hit 92% broadband coverage in rural areas by June 2020

The state’s goal to get 92% of rural Colorado connected to decent broadband by June will miss the mark. No single factor was to blame — and it had nothing to do with the coronavirus pandemic. But an overall reason is that determining the figure is a crapshoot. “There’s no place for us to go to get more accurate information,” said Anthony Neal-Graves, executive director of the Colorado Office of Broadband, which is focused on getting rural Colorado coverage to 100%. ”Even the (Federal Communications Commission) admits that the data they have is awful.” Internet access in the state’s rural communities has barely budged in 12 months. It’s now at 87.1%, up from 86% last June. The state updates the numbers twice a year based on surveys sent to internet service providers. Responding is not required by law and nearly a quarter of the 90 ISPs surveyed failed to share an update. That’s not stopping Neal-Graves, though. He said the state has awarded nearly $20 million in grants in the past year to local governments and private internet providers to improve service in rural communities.