Two entities – Maverix Broadband and the Southern Colorado Economic Development District — have won over $750,000 for rural broadband buildouts through an innovative Colorado program.
The program, known as the Location Modification Program, followed awards made in the state’s Advance Colorado Broadband Grant Program, which was funded through the federal Capital Projects Fund. A total of more than $113.5 million was tentatively awarded through that program in January.
After challenges, remediations and awards, the state had $859,250 remaining. That money was the focus of the Location Modification Program, which was only open to entities that had already won CPF funding.
Applicants sought funding to serve locations not served by previous applicants and near initial awarded areas. Maverix Broadband and the Southern Colorado Economic Development District were the only applicants in the follow-on program.
Maverix Broadband, a local fiber broadband provider, was a big winner in the initial program and was tentatively awarded $25.1 million for three projects. The company won an additional $364,164 through the Location Modification Program to bring service to an additional 176 locations near one of the projects.
The Southern Colorado Economic Development District won over $12.4 million for three projects in the initial CPF program and has now been awarded an additional $395,087 to bring service to 161 more locations near one of those projects.
Both winners will contribute matching funds to the projects to cover at least 25% of the total cost of the deployments. Matching funds also were a requirement in the initial CPF program.
Anyone wanting to challenge the new awards has until June 14 to do so.
Considering that awards made in the Location Modification Program matched funding available so closely, the program would seem to be a success and one that other states might want to replicate for their own broadband funding programs.
Additional information about the Colorado Location Modification Program is available at this link under the “Challenge” section.
Additional information about Colorado broadband, including links to state funding resources, awards made, state specific Telecompetitor coverage and more, can be found on the Telecompetitor Broadband Nation webpage for the state.
