Qwest is seeking $350 million in federal stimulus grants to extend high-speed Internet service to more than 500,000 homes, businesses and schools in rural communities across its 14-state local phone service territory.
The Denver-based company would spend $100 million to upgrade its network in Colorado, adding or improving broadband services to nearly 108,000 homes. Internet speeds would range from 12 megabits per second to 40 megabits per second.
More than 19,000 businesses, schools, libraries and other facilities in the state would gain access to the faster speeds.
Qwest estimates that the project would create or retain 5,000 jobs in Colorado, slated to receive the largest portion of the spending.
The build-out would cover more than 100 Colorado communities, including Aspen, Central City, Grand Junction, Greeley, Hudson, Sterling and Windsor.
The total cost across all 14 states is $467 million, with Qwest covering 25 percent, or $117 million. Almost 90 percent of the targeted area is rural.
“Much like the water and electric programs the government established to encourage rural development, federal grants are needed to enable the deployment of broadband to high-cost, unserved areas,” Steve Davis, Qwest senior vice president, said Thursday.
The federal economic stimulus program includes $7.2 billion in funding for extending broadband to unserved or underserved communities across the country. Broomfield-based Level 3 Communications, which applied for grants during the initial round of applications last year, received $13.7 million in grants this month for the expansion of rural broadband in Georgia, Kansas, California, Texas, Florida and Tennessee.
Qwest said the government has indicated it will award grants for the latest round of applications by the end of September.
Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209, avuong@denverpost.com or
