Colorado’s rural communities are slated to receive over $420 million in federal funding for high-speed internet, state officials announced on Tuesday. 

The funding will come from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a federal 2021 law passed under former President Joe Biden that allocated $550 billion in new infrastructure investments over five years. That includes $65 billion for broadband infrastructure and subsidies to help lower-income families afford their internet. 

In a news release, the Governor’s Office of Information Technology said the National Telecommunications and Information Administration had approved Colorado’s proposal for how it intends to use $420 million in broadband funding allocated to the state. The office said the “historic investment” will provide high-speed internet to more than 96,000 Coloradans. 

Funding will go to projects serving rural communities across the state, including northern and central mountain areas. Officials say the funding will connect rural and some urban homes and businesses using a variety of technologies, including fiber-optic, wireless, and low-Earth orbit satellites, which will be connected by internet service providers. 

Funding will be administered through Colorado’s Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program. To see which locations will receive funding, go to Tinyurl.com/BEADMap. 

Nearly a quarter of the total funding, $103 million, is set to be awarded to Maverix Broadband, a fiber-optic internet provider based in rural and suburban communities southeast of Denver. Broadband company Conexon received the fourth-largest share of funding at $29 million, with those projects largely located in mountain communities in or near Summit, Eagle, Garfield, Pitkin, Grand, and Routt counties. 

Colorado had initially been approved for $826 million in federal broadband funding in 2023, but that funding was re-evaluated during President Donald Trump’s second administration. 

Despite receiving about half of what the state had initially expected, Colorado Broadband Office Executive Director Brandy Reitter called the $420 million investment a “monumental win for rural Coloradans who have lacked access to high-speed internet.”

The funds will also be critical for achieving Gov. Jared Polis’ goal of connecting 99% of Coloradans to high-speed internet by 2027. 

There are still a few steps left before Colorado receives the funding. The National Institute of Standards and Technology will have 20 days to review Colorado’s plan, after which the state will have 30 days to review and sign off on the agreement. 

Once funding is approved, project recipients will have four years to complete construction.