The federal government is set to award Colorado $420 million to bolster high-speed internet access in the state , enough to connect nearly 100,000 Colorado locations to broadband.

The federal grant, known as the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment, or BEAD, program, will help pay for about 45,700 new locations to be connected to fiber optic cable and about 47,700 to be connected via low-earth orbit satellites, pending final review. Another 2,690 locations will be connected by wireless technologies, according to a map provided by the state when it announced Tuesday that a federal agency had approved the state’s final proposal.

Many of the locations are in El Paso, Elbert and Weld counties; in mountain communities along U.S. 285; and other communities spread along the Front Range. T

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