Colorado
The money will enable 10 gigabit internet access for hundreds of Colorado residents.
Photo of Saguache County, Mount Zwischen from PeakVisor
June 4, 2024 – Colorado Broadband Office announced an additional $759,250 in awards to its two new Location Modification Program winners, the South Colorado Economic Development District and Maverix Broadband, to facilitate broadband expansion in the state.
SCEDD’s additional $395,087 win, which increases its total investment in the project to $2.38 million, will complete the company’s fiber infrastructure project and will provide fiber access to 161 underserved addresses in Avondale and Boone cities.
“Being able to provide connectivity to our rural communities is significant. These projects will have a true impact throughout southern Colorado; and, along with our partners from SECOM and Ditesco, SCEDD is proud to be leading the way in these efforts for so many of our rural communities, including the communities of Avondale and Boone,” said Leslie Mastroianni, SCEDD Executive Director, in a press release. SCEDD encourages economic planning and project implementation by helping local communities access grant and loan funding opportunities, administrative and technical assistance, and technology resources.
David Lindauer, founder of Maverix Broadband, told Broadband Breakfast Monday that the $364,164 awarded will connect high-speed fiber internet to over 176 remote homes in economically disadvantaged areas with limited broadband access in Saguache County’s mountainous areas.
“We are excited to soon be able to offer 10 gigabit internet to help improve the lives and level the playing field in communities that lack broadband access the rest of the world enjoys,” Lindauer told Broadband Breakfast.
In January, Gov. Jared Polis announced that Colorado’s $113 million in Capital Projects Fund investments aims to connect nearly 19,000 homes and businesses in the state. The remaining funding from the CPF funded the Location Modification Program, in which CPF selected two applicants: SCEDD and Maverix Broadband, to provide broadband access in underserved areas.
“Access to high-speed broadband is essential for hardworking Coloradans, students for learning, our economy and businesses who need access to new markets and this funding keeps us on the path to more success,” Polis said in a press release.
