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Digital Download
Digital Access Monthly Newsletter
July 2025
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The Digital Download is your place for monthly updates from the Colorado Digital Access team.
The Digital Access Team is led by the Office of the Future of Work in partnership with the Office of eHealth Innovation. The state’s digital access infrastructure work is supported by the Colorado Broadband Office, which oversees Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) and other broadband infrastructure funding.
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Digital Access Updates
Mapping Digital Access Organizations Across Colorado
The Digital Access Team recently partnered with Visible Network Labs to distribute a survey to organizations that work on digital access in Colorado. We had 75 organizations respond. Thank you to those of you who took the survey! Results from the survey will give us valuable information about what services are offered and the relationships between different organizations. This vital input will guide our next steps to support digital access across Colorado. The table below summarizes the goals of the survey.
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Survey was designed to:
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So that we can achieve these outcomes:
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Collect information about who is offering what, what resources they have, and share this with communities.
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Communities know who offers what and can streamline services at the community-wide level.
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Collect information about local assets and challenges.
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Build a state-wide picture of what digital access assets and challenges exist at the local level.
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Understand how local organizations react to our operational definition of digital access.
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Better understand how local organizations think about local access.
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Understand what concerns organizations have about the future.
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Plan for the future of digital access in Colorado.
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We are currently working with Visible Network Labs to finalize the key insights from the survey so that we can share the information back with the community. The Digital Access Team will also work with the newly formed Digital Access Working Group, made up of stakeholders across the state, to identify next steps based on the survey results.
Changes to the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program
On June 6, 2025, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released a BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice requiring changes to the BEAD program. This program awarded $826.5 million to Colorado to expand high-speed internet access by funding infrastructure deployment across Colorado. To comply with the new NTIA guidelines, the Colorado Broadband Office (CBO) has rescinded all preliminary BEAD awards to previous awardees.
A new single-round BEAD application process, named "NTIA Benefit of the Bargain Round," will be initiated, and all eligible entities, including previous preliminary awardees, can apply. This new process will no longer prioritize fiber and remove previous requirements like fair labor practices, workforce development, local and Tribal coordination, and climate change resilience. The NTIA Benefit of the Bargain Round application is open through Monday, July 21 at 10 AM. The CBO will then select BEAD award recipients and report them to the NTIA by September 4.
The changes to the BEAD program are significant. Nevertheless, Colorado is prepared to adapt, meet the revised deadlines and distribute BEAD funding to achieve its goal of connecting Coloradans who lack access to high-speed internet.
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 Digital Navigator Nook
Impact of Digital Navigators of Larimer County
The Digital Navigators of Larimer County, facilitated by Loveland Public Library, serve the Northern Colorado community by providing digital skill building support.
Over the course of the Digital Navigator Pilot Program (DNPP), the Digital Navigators of Larimer County were located across 6 library host sites and 6 outreach sites, serving folks in rural areas, older adults, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and individuals with traumatic brain injuries. They served around 420 unique individuals by appointment during the duration of the DNPP. Veteran Dick Reznik shares how the Digital Navigators of Larimer County supported him in pursuing his passion for photography.
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Digital Access Events
Digital Access Stakeholders Meeting
If you are a digital inclusion practitioner or someone who wants to know more about digital inclusion work in Colorado, please join us for our bi-monthly Digital Access Stakeholders meetings! Register on Zoom to attend the next Digital Access Stakeholder meeting, on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, from 12:00 - 1:30 PM. Note: The Zoom meeting link has recently changed and you will need to re-register for the new meeting link.
Digital Navigator Community of Practice
Navigators, staff who support them, and other stakeholders are invited to attend the monthly Community of Practice (CoP), which is on the last Wednesday of each month. There will not be a CoP meeting in July. The next CoP will take place on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, at 8:30 AM.
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Contact Us
Digital Access Team
Colorado Dept of Labor & Employment
633 17th Street, Suite, 201
Denver, CO 80202
digitalaccess@state.co.us
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