Tweaked broadband bill passes through Senate [telecom]

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Amendment boosts first year funding for deployment

By Marianne Goodland

The Colorado Senate this week gave final approval to the bill that they hope will finance broadband access in rural communities. Senate Bill 18-002 would take dollars from a fund that currently finances phone landlines and transfer it to a broadband deployment fund. Those dollars would then go to private telecom providers in rural areas to either provide broadband service for the first time or improve what's already there. The dollars targeted in the bill currently go to CenturyLink.

The bill, which is sponsored by Senate President Pro tem Jerry Sonnenberg of Sterling and Sen. Don Coram of Montrose, passed the Senate Thursday on a 30-5 vote.