Colorado aims to use pandemic to expand funding for broadband access

Colorado and federal lawmakers want to put big money into more efforts to expand high-speed internet access. In Colorado, about 90,000 rural residents and 65,000 students across the state do not have access or adequate access, according to a recent Colorado Broadband Office report. A state-level stimulus measure unveiled this week proposes spending $50 million to $75 million to extend broadband to more parts of the state — the third-largest item in the package. The money would essentially double what the state spends on the initiative now and help replace diminishing revenue from a 2018 law that fell well short of its goal.