Colorado BEAD plan is ‘agnostic’ to fiber versus fixed wireless

Fixed wireless is "absolutely part of the equation” for Colorado’s Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding plans, according to Brandy Reitter, executive director of the state’s broadband office. Colorado secured $826 million in funding from the federal BEAD program, which, according to state lawmakers, will help connect over 99% of homes in the state by the start of 2027. Reitter said that fixed wireless will be an asset to the state given its difficult topography, which includes mountainous areas and box canyons where fiber buildouts would be high-cost and difficult to execute. She noted that opening BEAD funding to fixed wireless solutions will serve smaller internet service providers (ISPs) in Colorado, who can bring the technology to those areas easier, faster, and at a lower cost than fiber. The state is working on its plans to serve high-cost threshold areas, she added, and although many programs are "fiber-preferred," it will use analysis to determine where fiber "makes sense."