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July 2021 Newsletter |
July 13, 2021 |
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Historic Legislation Improves Broadband in Colorado
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed legislation that dedicates $75 million to expand the state’s broadband infrastructure. House Bill 21-1289 also codifies our Colorado Broadband Office (CBO) within the governor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT). With the new legislation, CBO is tasked with overseeing broadband deployment projects throughout the state as well as administering a broadband stimulus grant program. The bipartisan bill also allocates $20 million to the Ute Mountain and Southern Ute Tribes to expand broadband in Southwestern Colorado.
House Bill 21-1289 provides a tremendous opportunity to help bridge the digital divide exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic by increasing broadband access for our students, communities, telehealth, agriculture, and businesses.
Through this legislation and House Bill 21-1109, The Colorado Broadband Office is taking the lead in centralizing and coordinating all state broadband efforts. By moving the Broadband Deployment Board (BDB) from the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) to OIT, my office will provide technical and expert review of applications to the BDB. We will also oversee all funding efforts to prevent duplicative investment and ensure the limited funding resources in the state are maximized and efficiently applied to improving broadband across Colorado.
The Colorado Broadband Office will continue to work with the people of Colorado, Federal programs, the Legislature, and the Governor’s office to improve and enhance Broadband for all.
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Broadband Advisory Board Meeting
Tuesday, July 20 at 11 a.m.
This month’s meeting will feature a presentation from Next Century Cities, focusing on their recent publication on broadband mapping and the different methods used by local, state and federal governments. Visit the Broadband Advisory Board page on our website for the agenda, public comment policy and information on future meetings.
There is still time to take the Broadband Advisory Board survey
The Board has created a short survey to gather public feedback on its role, meeting topics, and the Board’s composition and representation. This survey is anonymous and results will be shared during the July meeting. Take the survey before July 19
July Lunch & Learn: Federal Broadband Funding
Tuesday, July 27 at Noon
Our next Lunch & Learn will feature an overview of federal broadband funding from Teresa Ferguson, Director of Federal Broadband Engagement at the CBO.
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The CBO had a monumental legislative year! Three major pieces of legislation will impact the structure and funding of broadband support from the state—HB21-1109, HB21-1289 and SB21-060—and a few additional bills had components that touch on broadband. Full details on each bill can be found here.
Most excitingly, the CBO was codified as an official office in statute! This does not significantly change the work we already do, it simply makes us official in state law and provides more opportunities for funding and growth in the future. With this change, CBO now serves as the official central coordination of all broadband initiatives for the State of Colorado and therefore the Broadband Deployment Board (BDB), previously housed at DORA, is moving to OIT/CBO.
Secondly, broadband initiatives in Colorado received $75 million in federal ARPA funding. The Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Indian Ute Tribal Nations, BDB and DOLA Interconnectivity Grant Program will receive $60 million for last- and middle-mile projects. OIT will receive the remaining $15 million to implement programs and grants that subsidize the cost of internet service and provide devices and equipment for telehealth services.
Thank you to representatives Titone, Baisley, Kennedy, Roberts, Soper and senators Bridges, Donovan, Priola and Coram for their support and efforts this year. We wouldn't have been so successful without their sponsorship and dedication!
Our office will be working with stakeholders, agencies, the Governor's Office and U.S. Treasury over the next few months to implement the grants, programs and administrative needs in order to successfully roll out these changes and dollars with the greatest impact to Colorado residents. Stay tuned for more information!
The application deadline for the Summer 2021 grant cycle of the Broadband Fund is July 15. Applications must be received on or before July 15, 2021, 11:59 p.m. MST. Visit the Broadband Fund website for information on the application process and contact dora_broadband@state.co.us with any questions.
Based on the July 7, 2021 Broadband Deployment Board meeting, there are revisions to the Summer 2021 Grant Application and Attachment A - Address List form. These changes are effective immediately and apply to applications being submitted for the upcoming 2021 Summer Grant Cycle. The revised application and attachment A are dated July 8, 2021, and can be found here.
The Board also made changes to the Grant Award Policy, RFR Policy, and Conflict of Interest Policy, and is drafting an RFP policy based on HB21-1109, all of which will be published in August.
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We started outreach for our fall data collection cycle last week. The data submission deadline is September 3, 2021. Please contact us to verify your company’s point of contact to ensure your company participates in our data collection.
What's new this year?
Our process remains the same, however the recently passed HB21-1109 changes the participation and data granularity requirements.
- Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that participate or intend to participate in any State of Colorado broadband grants programs (including the Broadband Deployment Board, OIT Digital Inclusion Funding, DOLA Interconnectivity Program, CDE Connecting Students Grant Funds and anyone who wishes to file an appeal, or right of first refusal) are required to submit data for inclusion in the Colorado Broadband Map. All other ISPs are asked to voluntarily participate in order to increase the accuracy of our maps.
- Granular coverage data is defined as a coverage polygon or location coordinates of served locations. Data granularity requirements align with the FCC Rulemaking from January 2021.
- Granular coverage data submitted pursuant to subsection (9)(m) of 24-37.5-119 is not a public record as defined in statute, and is not subject to public disclosure under the Colorado Open Records Act.
Visit our website for data submission guidelines.
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On June 24, the White House and a group of 10 senators forged a Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework proposing historic levels of infrastructure investment to support and expand the nation’s economy. Of the $1.2 billion proposed, $65 billion is being targeted for broadband infrastructure investments to “connect every American to reliable high-speed internet.” The job of translating the broadband portion of the framework into a bill will be the work of a bipartisan working group of Senators, including: Young (IN), Collins (ME), Moran (KS), Tillis (NC), Rounds (SD), Portman (OH), Hassan (NH), Hickenlooper (CO), Manchin (WV), Shaheen (NH), Tester (MT), Warner (VA), King (ME) over the coming weeks. We will keep you posted as the legislation advances.
We continue to monitor federal programs. Recent developments are highlighted below; please visit our website for summaries and updates on the various programs and funding opportunities.
Upcoming Deadlines
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FCC Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF): The USAC opened the ECF application window on June 29, applications will be accepted through August 13, 2021, for the $7.2 billion program which provides support to schools and libraries for the purchase of laptop and tablet computers, Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers, and broadband connectivity for off-campus use by students, school staff, and library patrons during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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NTIA Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP): Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) has been issued for the $288 million BIP. Applications are due Aug. 17. Grant awards are anticipated by fall 2021. Additional Resources: BIP FAQs & Webinar Recordings
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Tribal Connectivity Program (TCBP): Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) has been issued for the $1 billion TCBP. Applications are due Sept. 1. Grant awards are anticipated by fall 2021. Additional Resources: TCBP FAQs & Webinar Recordings, TCBP Letter to Tribal Leaders
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U.S. Treasury Coronavirus State, Local, Territorial and Tribal governments Fiscal Recovery Funds’ (SLFRFs): The SLFRF made $350 billion in emergency funding available for eligible recipients to make necessary investments that provide unserved or underserved locations with new or expanded broadband access. Interim Final Rules comments are due July 15, 2021. If you have questions about the IFR, or if you want to respond to questions in the IFR, email SLFRP@treasury.gov.
Federal Program Updates
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FCC Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program provides a temporary discount of $50-75 on monthly broadband bills for qualifying low-income households. Since enrollment began on May 12, over 3 million, a fraction of the eligible US households, have enrolled. Resources:
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FCC Rural Health Care (RHC) Program: On June 23, the FCC directed the RHC administrator (USAC) to carry forward over $379 million in prior years’ unused funds to satisfy FY2021 demands. On July 1, the USAC invited qualified applicants to initiate the competitive bidding process for funding year (FY) 2022, giving RHC applicants five months before the opening of the FY2022 filing window on Dec. 1, 2021. Resources:
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