Fort Collins council approves BEAD grant agreement for Connexion broadband expansion

The Fort Collins City Council voted 7-0 Tuesday to approve Resolution 2026-091, authorizing the city manager to sign the BEAD grant agreement tied to the city’s previously appropriated broadband award. The action allows the city to finalize the agreement with the Colorado Broadband Office and move ahead with a Connexion project to extend fiber service to unserved and underserved locations in Fort Collins.

The grant package totals $2,042,949, including a $1,511,782 BEAD pass-through award and a required city match of $531,167 from Broadband fund reserves. Council had already appropriated those amounts in Ordinance No. 054, 2026; Tuesday’s resolution authorized execution of the agreement before a July 15 deadline needed for the city to receive the 2026 award.

The project, identified in the agreement as "Fort Collins Connexion FTTP in MDUs and MHPs," calls for extending Connexion’s existing XGS-PON network to 237 locations, including 41 underserved and 196 unserved sites. Exhibit A to the agreement says the work will require about eight route miles of buried fiber.

Mayor Emily Francis praised the effort before the vote, saying it was "a great program to extend high-speed internet to underserved areas" and that she was glad the city was pursuing the grant opportunity. There was no staff presentation, no public comment and no further council discussion before the roll-call vote.

Under the resolution, the city manager may also, in consultation with the city attorney, finalize the agreement and exhibits in substantially the attached form and approve future amendments during the term of the contract when needed to protect the city’s interests, provide a benefit to the city or limit the city’s financial obligation to funds already approved by council.

The agreement runs through an initial expiration date of Sept. 30, 2029. By then, the city must deliver a commercially serviceable broadband network to at least 237 locations in the project area, with service available through routine installation within 10 business days of a request. The agreement also requires minimum service of at least 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload, with eligible community anchor institutions capable of 1 Gbps symmetrical service.