A public-private partnership of Internet service providers, schools, libraries and other groups Thursday sought $180 million in federal stimulus funds to expand broadband services at dozens of community institutions across Colorado.
The Colorado Community Anchors Broadband Consortium would use the money to build a network that could provide high-speed Internet service to 178 school districts, 26 libraries and 12 educational-services cooperatives that span 63 counties.
“We want to deliver bandwidth to a student whether he or she is in an urban area or a rural area,” said Denise Atkinson-Shorey, chief information officer at Eagle-Net, a Longmont-based Internet service provider for schools that is leading the bid.
The project is the largest of the six applications from Colorado that will be submitted for a piece of the $7.2 billion federal broadband stimulus program, which aims to improve Internet services in rural areas and at schools, hospitals and other community institutions.
The consortium estimates that the project would save or create up to 800 jobs a year for three years. Internet speeds would reach 20 megabits per second, about three times as fast as typical residential service.
The $180 million would pay for the network construction and services for three years. It would cost $20 million annually to sustain the network, which would be funded with subscriptions from participating institutions.
Separately, Wildblue Communications, a provider of Internet service via satellite, is seeking $15 million to help subsidize broadband for 10,000 Colorado homes in communities where wire-line service is unavailable. Satellite Internet already reaches those areas, although the costs are higher and speeds are slower than typical wire-line service.
Under the program, customers would pay $19.95 a month for Internet speeds of 768 kilobits a second. Regular rates for Wildblue Internet range from $49.95 to $69.95 a month for speeds of up to 1 megabit per second.
The Greenwood Village-based company would contribute $4 million to the project, which includes a component to educate low-income communities on the benefits of broadband.
“What we want to do is make sure that everyone who wants satellite broadband can afford it and those who don’t understand the value of broadband are educated,” said Lisa Scalpone, senior vice president of business development.
The state, SpaceNet, Brainstorm and Deproduction are submitting the other applications.
Wildblue has a separate nationwide application seeking $500 million in grants and loans in addition to its Colorado proposal.
Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com
