Colorado Communities Work Together to Expand Rural Broadband

At least 14 communities — and potentially more soon — in Colorado have banded together to help establish better broadband access for rural residents of the state, and they recently shared some insights into their work. Members of the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments (NWCCOG) met on August 9 to discuss collaborative efforts. The idea that rural communities are stronger when they work together on broadband was central to the discussion, supported with some concrete examples of where this has been the case in Colorado. At the center of the discussion was Project THOR, which comprises a middle-mile network establishing carrier-class connectivity between various communities across Northwest Colorado, for communities such as Glenwood Springs and Steamboat Springs (CO), along with several towns in counties such as Eagle, Grand, Jackson, Pitkin and Summit (CO). As part of the project, local governments in these cities and towns have hired Mammoth Networks as a network operator to connect over 400 miles of existing public and commercial fiber to provide service to underserved communities.