Colorado Rolls Out $826M BEAD Plan

Amazon Kuiper and Starlink Awarded Only 8% of total Colorado Funding

Colorado’s latest broadband awards have taken a sharp turn toward the sky. Satellite internet providers Amazon’s Project Kuiper and SpaceX’s Starlink will server a high percenrage of the state’s underserved broadband locations in the revised Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) plan. But while they won half the service areas, they received only 8% of Colorado’s $826 million allocation, thanks to their much lower-cost bids.

The Colorado Broadband Office announced the preliminary awards on August 23. In total, about 90,000 homes and businesses across the state remain unserved or underserved, defined as having less than 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload speeds. The new plan funnels BEAD subsidies to connect them, but the distribution looks far different than earlier drafts that heavily favored fiber.

A Shift to “Technology Neutral” Rules

When Congress passed the $42 billion BEAD program in 2021, fiber was expected to dominate due to its speed and longevity. But in June 2025, the Trump administration ordered states to scrap fiber-first priorities and instead choose the lowest-cost, technology-neutral bids.

That change opened the door for low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites, which offered aggressive pricing. “LEO was really aggressive in their coverage and pricing,” said Brandy Reitter, executive director of the Colorado Broadband Office. “They decreased their cost per broadband serviceable location quite a bit to be more competitive against the other technologies.”

The Numbers: How the Awards Break Down

• Amazon Kuiper: Awarded $25.4 million to cover 42,252 locations — averaging just $560 per site. Service is expected to launch in late 2025, with full commitments by 2027.
• Starlink: Received $9.16 million to serve 5,400 locations, averaging nearly $1,700 per site. Starlink already has coverage across Colorado.
• Fiber Providers: Won 48% of locations and took home 91% of the awarded $409 million, reflecting the higher costs of fiber builds.
• Fixed Wireless Providers: Claimed just 2% of locations and 1% of funds.

Because satellites took so many locations at low cost, Colorado awarded only about half its BEAD budget ($409 million) in this round. The remainder could be redirected to other broadband programs across the state.

Limits and Concerns

Not every bid from Amazon and Starlink cleared the bar. In tribal areas, for instance, LEOs lacked proper permissions, and fiber won instead. In some cases, satellite providers also struggled to demonstrate scalability and long-term performance.

For Amazon, the biggest question is timing: it has no active consumer service today and doesn’t expect to fully deliver until 2027. “The longer people wait, the longer they fall behind,” Reitter cautioned.

What’s Next

Public comments on the preliminary awards are open until August 29. After that, the Colorado Broadband Office will submit the final plan to the NTIA by September 4. Federal officials then have 90 days to approve.

If approved, the plan would mark a major shift in U.S. broadband policy: satellite companies moving from niche providers to frontline players in federal subsidy programs. For Colorado’s rural households, it could mean service from orbit arrives faster — and far cheaper — than waiting for fiber to dig its way across the Rockies.

More on BEAD and Broadband

• More of our recent stories about BEAD and public broadband programs at Brander Group
• For up-to-date information on the $42 billion BEAD Program, check Brander Group’s BEAD funding progress dashboard