Colorado’s state-funded broadband grant program reached a decision point this month. On 11-Aug-2026 the Colorado Broadband Office (CBO) posted its Tier I intent-to-award list for Advance-Local middle-mile grants and opened a two-week appeals window that closed on 25-Aug-2026. Until that process finishes, every award on the list is still preliminary.
What the Advance-Local program funds
Advance-Local — formally the Advance State & Local Dollars program — is a roughly $27.4 million state-funded effort drawing on Colorado’s High Cost Support Mechanism Program. It is aimed squarely at the communities that larger federal broadband programs passed over. The CBO splits the money into two tiers: up to 60 percent for middle-mile infrastructure, and up to 40 percent for last-mile projects, short-term construction, and non-deployment work such as digital access initiatives.
The first grant cycle opened its application window on 30-Apr-2026, and the CBO has said awards from that cycle are expected later this fall. Announcing the program in April, CBO Executive Director Brandy Reitter said the state has “a plan to address these areas so no one is left behind.”
A statewide middle-mile roadmap is also in progress
Separately, the CBO opened public comment on 24-Jul-2026 on its Draft Middle Mile Due Diligence and Strategic Roadmap Report, with feedback due by 7-Aug-2026. The draft sets out a phased strategy for stitching Colorado’s regional middle-mile infrastructure into a single statewide network that last-mile builds can then connect to.
What this means if you live in Colorado
It is worth being careful about what a middle-mile award actually is. Middle-mile is the backbone that carries traffic between communities and the wider internet — not the line that runs to your house. A finalized Tier I list will not, on its own, put a new provider at your address.
There is also nothing here to sign up for. Grant milestones are not service dates, and infrastructure on this scale takes years to build. If you are in a rural part of the state, your practical options today remain the ones already serving you: CenturyLink where its DSL or fiber reaches, Xfinity in and around the Front Range metros, T-Mobile home internet where tower capacity allows, and satellite service from Starlink in the harder-to-reach valleys.
The more useful thing to watch is the CBO’s fall award announcements, when named projects and their coverage areas start to become public.
Sources
- Colorado Broadband Office — “Advance-Local Middle Mile Grants: Tier 1 Intent to Award List Announced” (11-Aug-2026)
- Colorado Broadband Office — “Public Comment Period Open: Middle-Mile Due Diligence & Strategic Roadmap” (24-Jul-2026)
- Colorado Office of Information Technology — “Colorado Broadband Office Announces $27.4 Million Broadband Program to Fill Connectivity and Adoption Gaps” (22-Apr-2026)