STATEWIDE — The Broadband Deployment Board, which manages the Colorado Broadband Fund within the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), announced that it is accepting applications for broadband infrastructure grants, now through September 12. The grants will support the deployment of broadband internet service to unserved Coloradans.

Access to broadband internet service is vital to rural communities, and the board is working to achieve the governor’s goal of 85-percent broadband coverage statewide by 2018 and 100-percent by 2020 through the funding of projects that help close the connection gap between rural and urban Colorado.

Providing broadband in rural areas expands quality health care through telehealth initiatives and provides rural students the same quality educational experience as their urban peers. Rural businesses increasingly rely on broadband access for selling products worldwide and agriculture is becoming more efficient with the ability to monitor and analyze crop and water conditions in real-time. Grants provided by the board are a key component of the newly created Broadband Office’s strategy to expand broadband access to all Coloradans.

Applications are now available on the board's website, colorado.gov/dora-broadband-fund, and must be submitted by September 12.