For Colorado Citizens

What is EAGLE‑Net Alliance?

EAGLE‑Net Alliance (EAGLE‑Net) is a Colorado intergovernmental entity which operates a cost-sharing cooperative that will deliver a carrier quality broadband network to more than 170 communities across the state. Through this cooperative, EAGLE‑Net is building a sustainable network to last well beyond its August 2013 completion, offering long-term communication benefits to public schools, community colleges, libraries, Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), higher education institutions, hospitals and local government agencies.

How was EAGLE‑Net created?

EAGLE‑Net was awarded a Round-2 $100.6 million Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant in September 2010. Through public-private partnerships, EAGLE‑Net will bring broadband service to 234 community anchor institutions across Colorado including 178 public school districts, libraries, higher education institutions, Boards of Cooperative Educational Services and other community anchor institutions.

The BTOP program is sponsored by the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. NTIA utilized $4.7 billion of that funding for grants to deploy broadband infrastructure in the U.S., expand public computer center capacity, and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service.

Read more about EAGLE‑Net Alliance’s history.

What are Colorado’s community anchor institutions?

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has described “Community Anchor Institutions” as consisting of schools, libraries, healthcare providers, public safety entities, community colleges and other institutions of higher education, and other community support organizations and entities.”

EAGLE‑Net will connect 234 community anchor institutions across the State of Colorado during the grant period that started in September 2010 and will be completed by August 2013.  Community anchor institutions included in the EAGLE‑Net grant:

  • 178 K-12 school districts
  • 15 community colleges
  • 26 libraries
  • 12 Boards Of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES)
  • 3 higher education institutions

National Broadband Map

The National Broadband Map was launched on February 17, 2011, and is available at www.broadbandmap.gov. The National Broadband Map is an unprecedented searchable database of information on high-speed Internet access. NTIA created the National Broadband Map in collaboration with the FCC, using data that each state, territory and the District of Columbia (or their designees) collected from broadband providers or other data sources. The map was created at the direction of Congress, which recognized that economic opportunities are driven by access to 21st Century infrastructure.

BTOP Progress

To learn more about the progress of the EAGLE‑Net Alliance BTOP project, visit our BTOP Progress pages. It features an interactive map, construction timelines, and progress report updates.

Resources

The following information is provided by EAGLE‑Net Alliance to answer frequently asked questions, explain commonly used broadband terms, plus other resources for more information.  Visit our Resource Library for all of our materials.