The Colorado Broadband Office (CBO) announced on 21-Sep-2026 that it is rescinding more than $100 million in provisional federal BEAD broadband awards to Maverix Broadband after an inquiry found misuse of state and federal grant money. The awards covered roughly 10,000 rural and suburban locations, which will now have to be rebid to other internet providers.
What the state found
According to the state, the CBO received two whistleblower complaints in late May 2026 about how Maverix was using grant funds. The office froze payments, opened an inquiry and put the company under enhanced monitoring. The state says that work turned up payments for services and materials that were never received, along with unpaid vendors.
The state had moved to terminate six active Maverix grants: three federal Capital Projects Fund grants and three state High Cost Support Mechanism grants. Before it could formally cancel them, Maverix was placed into receivership. Colorado says it will try to recover $3.2 million ($2.5 million federal, $700,000 state) through the receivership and bankruptcy proceedings, and it has referred its findings to the U.S. Treasury Inspector General and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Maverix’s lawyers declined to comment, Wireless Estimator reported.
Why the BEAD piece matters
StateScoop reported that the $103 million Maverix award was about 26% of Colorado’s provisional BEAD awards, making it the largest single award in the state’s program. Wireless Estimator, citing court and state records, reported that Maverix filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 31-Aug-2026 and that its planned BEAD areas included parts of Boulder, Chaffee, Gilpin, Kiowa and Saguache counties.
The state stresses that no BEAD contract was ever signed with Maverix and no BEAD money was paid out. Instead, the state plans to put those locations back out to bid. The news also landed days after CBO Executive Director Brandy Reitter resigned, citing personal reasons, according to StateScoop.
What this means if you live in Colorado
If your home was in a Maverix BEAD area, the fiber build you may have been promised is not happening on the original schedule. The CBO says it is working with federal partners on a competitive rebid, but state officials have not given a timeline, and OIT Executive Director Sarah Tuneberg acknowledged the change could delay service for rural residents. Wireless Estimator reported that the receivership proceedings limit what the state can do in the near term.
Nothing changes for households on existing Maverix service or other providers’ networks today. If you are in an affected area, watch the Colorado Broadband Office for rebid announcements. Until a new provider is chosen and a contract is signed, any “coming soon” fiber in these areas should be treated as uncertain.
Sources
- Colorado OIT / Colorado Broadband Office: Colorado Takes Action to Protect Taxpayer Funds Following Broadband Grants Inquiry (21-Sep-2026)
- StateScoop: Colorado rescinds over $100M in BEAD awards after investigation into whistleblower complaints (22-Sep-2026)
- Wireless Estimator: Colorado cancels $103 million broadband grant to Maverix after invoices, unpaid contractors surface (22-Sep-2026)