Telecom

Current Projects

Southwest Colorado Regional Broadband Discussion - June 2021

Strategic Broadband Plan Overview - January 2017

Strategic Broadband Plan - January 2017

Previous Projects
3The Final Report for the SCAN network can be found at the bottom of the page.

The Colorado Office of Information Technology article on the broadband initiative can be found here.

In 2010, the SWCCOG was awarded a $3 million Department of Local Affairs grant to implement a high capacity network for the regional governments. This network, known as the Southwest Colorado Access Network (SCAN), was the SWCCOGs first large scale endeavor. The total project, including local matching funds, was over $4 million.

Project Overview

Economic growth and education in southwest Colorado depend in large part on telecommunications services available to public and private institutions, businesses, and residents.

Unfortunately, southwest Colorado communities exist at the endpoint of the nation’s telecommunications networks and are not fully integrated into the larger digital world. Limited access to broadband services and applications limit institutions, individuals and6 businesses from being able to participate fully in 21st century technology in which health care, education, and other important aspects of American life are online. Government services and democratic participation are also shifting to digital platforms. Better access to broadband services should (by no means is this a comprehensive list):

  • Extend education opportunities from K-12 to Doctorate degrees to citizens throughout southwest Colorado
  • Enable and create government efficiencies
  • Enhance economic development and increase access for those telecommuting
  • Offer better and more efficient access to digital resources around the world.

The Southwest Colorado Access Network (SCAN) will build a state of the art private telecommunications network to provide secure connections between governmental offices, educational institutions, law enforcement, libraries, fire departments and medical facilities. The SCAN will offer high speed transmission, greater bandwidth, voice over internet protocol (VOIP), telephony internet services in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

Vision Statement

Local public offices control their own telecommunications destiny with a private network supported by publicly owned infrastructure on an open access network model that provides very high speed transmission and large amounts of bandwidth at reasonable costs. The network provides the ability to aggregate demand among community anchor institutions (CAIs) that further enhances the ability to acquire telecommunications services on the most cost effective and efficient basis possible.

Mission Statement

Implement a regional telecommunications network that provides infrastructure to enable CAIa to connect to one another within a community, and aggregate demand to purchase telecommunications services more effectively. This will enable public offices throughout the region to network and aggregate their service delivery.

Description of Regional Network Architecture

The regional network provides connectivity for COG members ranging from Pagosa Springs on the east, to Dove Creek on the west. The regional network includes two hub locations in the cities of Cortez and Durango. The two regional hubs will be connected via a 10G backbone. Each community has an intra-community network to aggregate services at a common point (see figure below). Aggregation of demand region-wide is a major goal of the project. Where feasible, each community aggregation point will connect to one or both of the regional hub sites. Upstream connectivity will be from the regional hubs.

4

Each community varies in its needs and capability. Some are rather advanced, others are just getting started with broadband. Inter- and intra-community SCAN network segments are construction executed by the COG members, new construction executed by private carriers in partnership with the COG members, leased services from private carriers, or other deployments. High capacity connectivity at reasonable operational costs is the hallmark of the project.

The regional network will provide services for local governments and other community anchor institutions. Furthermore, excess capacity in a logically separate open access / open services network will be made available for private service providers to utilize, as within reason of SB05-152. Providing an open access / open services model is a requirement of the grant funding.

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