Colorado may soon see increased broadband infrastructure construction, due to a new Washington funding source.
The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, otherwise known as BEAD, was created to support the planning and deployment of broadband infrastructure nationally. At inception, the program was fueled by just over $42.4 billion in funding for projects across the country.
Now the program has awarded a substantial $826 million for such programs in the Centennial State.
“It is unacceptable that millions of Americans, disproportionately from rural areas, low-income neighborhoods, and communities of color, still lack access to the internet,” Colorado Democrat Senator Michael Bennet said upon the announcement of the BEAD funding.
That funding, added Bennet, will serve to “close the digital divide and help every family participate in the 21st century economy.”
Created under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the BEAD program has won unusual bipartisan support in Congress.
In a statement, Republican Cathy Rodgers, chairperson of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, lauded the program and added: “We need to make sure that the funds are used to connect every American.”
Rodgers additionally vowed that the members of the Energy and Commerce Committee were determined to make sure that BEAD dollars are invested in a “technology neutral way that avoids overbuilding and wasteful spending.”
To date, vast swaths of rural Colorado, particularly in the central and southern part of the state, are deficient in broadband coverage. According to the site Colorado Broadband Mapping Hub, roughly 10% of the state is currently either underserved or unserved altogether.
That means that just under 191,000 households lack internet access.
Colorado officials began submitting information to Washington last year in the hope of qualifying for BEAD funding. That process included tweaking the controversial broadband maps put together by the Federal Communications Commission that were supposed to show the degree of coverage in certain areas, but in some instances overestimated that coverage.
As part of that process, some 15,000 challenges on the part of both Colorado officials and residents were sent to the FCC, with around 6,7000 as of this spring accepted.
The BEAD funding for the state ended up being larger than was anticipated, according to Brandy Reitter, executive director of Colorado’s Broadband Office.
Speaking with the Colorado Sun newspaper, Reitter remarked: “I’ve given people estimates over the last 12 months that it could be $400 million to $700 million. But we got $826 million.”
By Garry Boulard
