During a work session on Tuesday, Jan. 6, the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) heard from Broadband Services Manager Eric Hittle, who requested a letter to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in support of its Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program funds.
The program is a $42.45 billion federal grant program “that aims to connect every American to high-speed internet by funding partnerships to build infrastructure,” according to the NTIA website.
In June 2023, the NTIA announced allocation amounts for certain eligible uses, which include installing internet and Wi-Fi service in multi-unit residential buildings, deploying or upgrading internet infrastructure and planning for the deployment of high-speed internet.
In June 2025, the NTIA issued new rules for the program, requiring states to reopen bidding to consider all technologies, not just fiber.
On Dec. 2, 2025, the Colorado Broadband Office announced the acquisition of $420.6 million in federal BEAD funding.
“These funds are earmarked for infrastructure expansion in rural and underserved regions, targeting high-speed access for over 96,000 currently unserved Coloradans. This initiative aligns with the administration’s commitment to achieve 99% statewide connectivity, providing the foundational infrastructure required for remote work, telehealth, and digital learning,” the website states.
During the work session, Hittle explained that many counties around the state, and in other states, have been petitioning the NTIA “to do what the original plan was,” which was to let states use those funds on all other eligible purposes if it is not going to use BEAD funds for building out to eligible addresses.
“And this letter really talks about the infrastructure side of that,” Hittle said, explaining that Archuleta County still has an “infrastructure gap” and described that as a “market failure,” noting that is a reason why the county has been in the situation it has been for many years.
“With our middle mile in particular,” he added.
In response to a question from Commissioner Warren Brown, Hittle explained that the state would receive the funds and that secondary petitions would need to go to the state on how to use those funds, noting that middle-mile fiber is “critical for our communications.”
Hittle explained the fiber project along Colo. 151 is “only one piece of the middle-mile issue for Archuleta County,” reiterating that “our biggest issue is redundancy.”
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