rural broadband
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Rural broadband clears first committee, but rocky road may be ahead
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The point of getting better (or in some cases, any) broadband service to rural Coloradans isn’t about downloading movies from Netflix or checking a Facebook status. It’s about the high school student who stays at school until 8 p.m. because it’s the only place where internet service is fast enough to do homework. The Senate…
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This Week at the Capitol: Jan. 29 – Feb. 2
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Here are the legislative committee hearings of note for the week ahead in the Colorado Capitol. Committee schedules are subject to change. The daily schedule is available on the legislature’s website. Click here and scroll down to committee hearings to listen online. Monday House Agriculture, Livestock & Natural Resources Committee, 1:30 p.m. HCR 112 House…
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Colorado to seek federal funds for rural broadband
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The Joint Budget Committee is looking for a way to provide a big boost to Colorado’s investment in rural broadband, and a bill to do just that cleared the House Finance Committee Monday. House Bill 1116 would allow the state to go after $250 million from the federal “Connect America” broadband grant program, although the state…
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Reactions to Hickenlooper’s State of the State fall along party lines
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Reactions to Gov. John Hickenlooper’s final State of the State speech Wednesday fell predictably along party-lines, with rah-rahs from Democrats and less enthusiasm from Republicans. The governor took 49 minutes to talk about his agenda for the 2018 legislative session and his final year in office. “We have a lot to accomplish in the next 119 days”…
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Senate’s ruling Republicans reach out to rural Colorado as #coleg opens
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The Colorado Senate’s majority Republicans are pitching upgrades to the information superhighway – as well as to plain-old paved highways – as a boon to rural Colorado. A press announcement touting the legislation said both proposals – the first two Senate bills introduced on opening day Wednesday – demonstrated a “commitment to assisting parts of rural…
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Lege leaders talk upcoming session at Chamber breakfast
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The four leaders of the Colorado General Assembly laid out their priorities for the session that starts next week, and while there’s room for agreement on just what the priorities are, how to get there is another matter. The leaders spoke during a question-and-answer session Thursday morning for the fourth annual Legislative Preview Breakfast hosted…
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IN RESPONSE: Don’t trust the legislature to improve rural internet
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In a recent article, Colorado Politics’s Joey Bunch writes about potential legislative efforts to cobble together some version of net neutrality at the state level. This is a direct response to the FCC’s recent controversial reversal of Obama-era internet regulations. “One of the most important things we can do for the economy of rural Colorado…
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Hickenlooper delays decision on special session for transportation funding, other topics
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Gov. John Hickenlooper hadn’t yet decided on Monday whether to call a special session to come up with more funding for the state’s transportation needs, among other topics he said were left unfinished in the General Assembly’s 120-day regular session. While Hickenlooper called it “the most productive legislative session” since he took office in 2011,…
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Weist: Rural Colorado counting on legislature for broadband access
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When it comes to broadband access, Colorado has a mountainous challenge – literally. The vast majority of Coloradans live in areas well served by multiple, private-sector, high-speed internet providers. Cable providers alone have invested over $8 billion of their own capital to upgrade their network. Most cable customers in Colorado will have access to affordable, 1-gigabit-per-second…
