The Divide: How Colorado is preparing to award $826M for BEAD

This episode features Brandy Reitter, executive director for Colorado's broadband office. The state of Colorado recently received NTIA approval on volume two of its initial proposal for the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program, or BEAD, getting the state one step closer to distributing $826 million for broadband deployment. (Check out both volumes of Colorado's approved BEAD proposal here.)

We discuss what that NTIA approval means and next steps for the state's BEAD program (according to Reitter, Colorado expects to launch its sub-grantee selection process in August or September). We also discuss ongoing challenges to access and adoption, including the significant impact of losing the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).

"I'm really surprised the ACP went away so easily," said Reitter. "It's such an important program. It made such a big difference. For Colorado, it was to the tune of 257,000 households. I mean, that's a big deal."

Here are a few topics discussed in this episode:

For a lightly edited transcript, click the caption button on the podcast player.