PUEBLO, CO — On Monday, Colorado State University Pueblo was awarded a grant totaling $2,999,023.00 to expand high-speed internet access in the community.
The grant comes from the Connecting Minorities Pilot Program (CMC) run by the Department of Commerce's Telecommunications and Information Administration. The program is part of the Biden-Harris Administration Internet For All Initiative.
With this grant award, CSU Pueblo counts itself as one of 61 minority-serving colleges and universities receiving grants totaling $175 million, as part of the initiative. CSU Pueblo has been designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2007.
The grant was awarded for CSU Pueblo's Adelante Connect project. The goal of the project is to bring an improved sense of digital equity within the community.
The project will take place in two phases.
Phase one begins with an assessment of the digital broadband capabilities of the CSU Pueblo Watertower Place Downtown Campus, which will improve these resources and subsidize high-speed internet for students within the community.
The grant funding will also provide students with laptops and implement a robust, reliable broadband connection (minimum speed 100/200 Mbps) for identified students to be fully funded through the duration of the program.
The program will also create a Digital Navigator Position in the community to act and help individuals in the community secure access to affordable high-speed internet access.
Phase two of the process will see the Digital Navigator Program expanded to all 15 eligible census tracts in the areas of Pueblo County (Avondale/Boone) and The City of Pueblo.
There is no timeline for when CSU Pueblo will begin the project at this time.
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