The Colorado Broadband Office released a report Friday listing 27 corridors as priorities in internet infrastructure development, including segments of Wolf Creek Pass on U.S. Highway 160.
The report is about improving the state’s cellular and fiber connectivity with a specific focus on middle mile infrastructure, which connects local broadband networks to regional hubs.
“Broadband is what we call critical infrastructure,” said Brandy Reitter, executive director of the Colorado Broadband Office. “It is essential infrastructure to support health, life, safety and economic development. It enables education, healthcare (and) public safety.”
Broadband is important to 911 operations as well as search and rescue and fire departments, Reitter said. The office wants to address priority gaps in service – which exist on Wolf Creek Pass on U.S. Highway 160 as well as State Highway 145 in Southwest Colorado – by fleshing out middle mile infrastructure.
“If you don’t have that backbone, you can’t connect,” she said.
Middle mile infrastructure is mostly underground but can also be attached to utility poles. The middle mile network across the Region 9 Economic Development District of Southwest Colorado, which encompasses Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma and San Juan counties, is composed of numerous independently owned sections which the state wants to integrate under one governing body.
“It's a little bit of a fragmented puzzle piece, if you will,” Reitter said. “Where there's opportunity to continue progress (is) standardizing how these regional networks work together and operate.”
The office outlined three different models for governance, including a coordinating regional board, a statewide board and a consolidated model.
“This localized approach has resulted in a fragmented statewide ecosystem characterized by duplicated operational efforts, inconsistent technical standards, and a reliance on ongoing state subsidies,” reads the report. “Maintaining these independently managed systems is not a viable long-term strategy for meeting the state's escalating demands for digital equity, economic competitiveness, and emergency communications resilience.”
Before solidifying its plan, the Broadband Office is seeking public comment from Friday through Aug. 7 on its proposals for a governing body for middle mile infrastructure. The office also is seeking comment on any gaps in connection it missed or inaccurately noted.
The report can be found at broadband.colorado.gov/resources/middle-mile-initiative. The public is invited to submit their comments to advance_cbo@state.co.us with the subject line “Middle Mile Strategic Roadmap.”
avanderveen@the-journal.com
