Colorado Broadband Funding Faces Major Overhaul, Fiber Optic Plans Halted

Federal mandate shifts focus from fiber to lower-cost wireless and satellite

Colorado’s ambitious plan to expand high-speed internet access across rural areas has been dramatically altered by a federal rule change. Local internet providers are scrambling after a compressed application timeline and a new directive prioritizing cost over technology, potentially sidelining fiber optic infrastructure in favor of satellite and wireless solutions.

Sudden Deadline Sparks Provider Scramble

The state’s $826.5 million in federal broadband funds, part of the national Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, now requires providers to reapply for grants. This abrupt shift, compressing a six-week application period to a mere two weeks, has left many organizations overwhelmed. A crucial rule modification mandating “tech neutrality” has effectively prohibited giving preference to fiber optic technology over wireless, satellite, or even older DSL services.

Leslie Mastroianni, executive director of the Southern Colorado Economic Development District, expressed the difficulty: “It was a rough spell.” Her organization halved its original ten applications. “We are fortunate that the ISP (SECOM) has the capability to incorporate new priorities into our project design. There are other ISPs that take great pride in their fiber capabilities and were unable to make those adjustments.” Some companies have withdrawn entirely from the process.

Brandy Reitter, Executive Director of the Colorado Broadband Office, working remotely. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun)

Federal Directive Prioritizes Cost Savings

The U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) issued a policy notice on June 6, known as the “Benefit of the Bargain” round. This directive shifts the program’s emphasis from the best available technology to the lowest cost option for the government. This change occurred after Colorado had made significant progress with its initial BEAD rollout, aiming to bring 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload speeds to underserved areas.

Brandy Reitter, executive director of the Colorado Broadband Office, described the impact: “Basically, we had to rescind all of our work, so, a full start over. It modified the grant program and gave us 90 days to start over (and) execute a new grant application.” She voiced concerns about the accelerated vetting process for the 130,000 locations seeking funding, now reduced to 45 days from the original nine months.

“We would never, ever run a grant program in 90 days under normal circumstances, especially for a billion dollars.”

—Brandy Reitter, Executive Director, Colorado Broadband Office

Shift Towards Satellite and Wireless

The recent application period saw a significant decline in fiber optic proposals, dropping from 64% to 40% of applicants. Conversely, wireless solutions now constitute the majority. Notably, 29 new companies have entered the bidding, including eight applications from Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service.

Satellite companies are requesting $363 million, while fixed-wireless providers seek $60 million. Fiber internet companies have requested $464 million, according to Colorado Broadband Office data. Starlink, praised for its speed in rural areas, is now considered a strong contender. However, a recent Ookla report indicated that only about 17.4% of Starlink users in the U.S. met the federal government’s minimum speed requirements.

Amazon’s Project Kuiper service is also slated to launch later this year, promising download speeds of 400 Mbps, adding another low-Earth-orbit internet option. As of July 2025, Starlink’s service availability map shows service is active across Colorado.

Starlink, Amazon ask for 3M of Colorado’s broadband money — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink communications satellites lifts off. (Malcolm Denemark/Florida Today via AP)

Fiber Advocates Raise Concerns About Long-Term Quality

Despite the shift, some providers remain committed to fiber. Jordan Wehe, co-CEO at Jade Communications, stated, “Our focus is on providing strong, resilient service and the best way to do this in remote Colorado is buried fiber optics.” However, Brian Worthen, CEO of Visionary Broadband, acknowledged the competitive landscape: “We saw the NTIA guidance… And we realized that most of the BEAD program is now satellite’s to lose.”

Providers who submitted initial applications faced significant costs, with some spending tens of thousands of dollars on grant writers and engineers. Shak Powers, regional projects manager at Region 9 Economic Development District, noted the financial burden on these companies for the first round of applications.

FTI WIFI, for instance, spent an additional $10,000 to reapply, reducing their project costs by swapping some fiber for wireless and removing locations now served by other providers. Bill Blackford, general manager of FTI WIFI, expressed concern about the program’s direction: “Because ultimately, the way the new bargain round works is the cheaper projects are more likely to get funded even if they don’t create long-term infrastructure, which is kind of the point of the (BEAD) program.”

The Colorado Broadband Office must now review applications for overlap before submitting a final proposal to the NTIA by September 4. Officials anticipate construction may not begin until late 2025, with a real risk that underserved communities could receive the same substandard service they have today.

Colorado Businesses Fear Tariff Uncertainty

Business Confidence Dips Amidst Shifting Trade Policies

Mounting global trade tariffs and the constant threat of new duties are casting a shadow over Colorado’s business landscape, impacting sentiment and future planning despite seemingly modest overall trade data.

Trade Data Masks Deeper Concerns

While Colorado’s total exports saw a 10.5% increase to $4.84 billion in the first five months of the year, a closer look reveals significant drops with key trading partners. Exports to China plummeted by 30%, and imports from the nation fell by 15%. Similarly, imports from Mexico decreased by 11.1%, while Canadian imports experienced a 14.2% decline in May after new tariffs were implemented.

Brian Lewandowski, executive director of the University of Colorado Leeds Business Research Division, described Colorado as “not a big export state,” with recent gains being “modest.” He noted that the impact of federal tariffs hasn’t hit the state as severely as other parts of the country.

Leeds Index Reveals Business Pessimism

However, a recent Leeds Business Confidence Index survey indicates significant unease among local business leaders. The third-quarter outlook registered a low 37.9 on a scale of 1 to 100, a figure that remains in negative territory despite a slight improvement from the previous quarter’s 31.9. This marks the fifth-lowest quarterly outlook in 23 years, with 44% of surveyed executives citing tariffs as a primary reason for their sentiment.

Colorado global exports are up amid tariff roller coaster — The confidence level of local business leaders remained negative for the third quarter due to the threat of tariffs, according to the quarterly Leeds Business Confidence Index.

Karen Gerwitz, CEO of World Trade Center Denver, highlighted the disruptive effect of the “on-again, off-again tariffs.” She stated, “I feel like it’s the confusion that is out there right now. It’s real. All I’m saying is that companies are struggling right now with the uncertainty so it’s hard to predict anything. It’s hard to enter into contracts. It’s hard to even decide what to do with your supply chain when you don’t know what the price is going to be.”

Trade Partners Show Varied Performance

Not all trade relationships have suffered. Italy, for instance, saw a remarkable 5,700% increase in Colorado exports during the first five months of the year. The state’s top export to Italy was “Polypeptide Protein & Glycoprotein Hormones & Derivatives,” a component used in collagen supplements.

State Initiatives Track Tariff Impact

In response to these economic shifts, Governor Jared Polis issued an executive order directing the state’s labor, trade, and agriculture departments to document the impact of tariffs and provide an estimate by the end of August. Meanwhile, federal tariffs of 30% or more are slated to affect goods from Canada, Mexico, and Europe starting August 1.

Coloradans Prioritize Politics in Economic Concerns

A broader perspective on the state’s economic concerns comes from the sixth annual Pulse Poll. For the first time, “government/politics” emerged as the top economic worry for 32% of surveyed Coloradans, a significant jump from previous years. This shift is notable, as political concerns have never before reached such a high percentage of responses.

Chart showing top concerns of Coloradans from the Pulse Poll. — Concerns about government and politics topped the list of Coloradans’ minds in this year’s Pulse Poll by the Colorado Health Foundation.

Dave Metz, the pollster for Pulse, commented on this trend, noting, “This marks a departure from what we’ve seen in past years… In that top category of government/politics, we’ve never even had 20% of respondents who named that as their top concern.” Cost of living and housing affordability followed as the next most significant concerns, with immigration issues seeing a substantial decline in public worry.

Labor Market Shows Mixed Signals

Colorado’s unemployment rate edged down to 4.7% in June, a slight improvement from May. However, job growth continues to decelerate, with employers adding fewer positions. Over the past year, job creation has been modest at 0.4%, largely driven by government sector employment. Private sector industries like construction and wholesale trade experienced job losses. For context, the U.S. unemployment rate stood at 4.1% in June, with national job growth at 1.1% year-over-year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing Affordability Remains Critical Issue

The cost of housing remains a significant burden for Coloradans, with a recent report indicating that a renter needs to earn $36.79 per hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent. This translates to an annual income of $76,523. While rents in the Denver metro area have seen a slight year-over-year decrease, the affordability gap persists, particularly for those on minimum wage who would need to work 82 hours weekly.

The Colorado Automobile Dealers Association reported an 8.3% increase in new vehicle registrations in the first half of the year. However, higher prices influenced by tariffs are expected to lead to an 8.8% decline in registrations for the latter half of the year. Tesla’s registrations, in particular, continued to fall in the second quarter.

The Denver Zoo received commendation from auditor Timothy M. O’Brien for its robust IT infrastructure security, with a low number of outdated equipment pieces identified.

Trump administation

Starlink, Amazon ask for $363M of Colorado’s broadband money