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What Is Project THOR?

In 2020, Northwest Colorado Council of Governments (NWCCOG), announced the completion of Critical Broadband Infrastructure along I-70 and participating communities bringing accessible, affordable, reliable broadband to rural communities across NW Colorado. Project THOR is a middle-mile network establishing carrier-class connectivity between 14 communities across Northwest Colorado and the NWCCOG Point of Presence in Denver.

Project THOR is managed by a collaborative group of local government stakeholders, NWCCOG as network owner, and Aspen Smart Networks as network operator. Project THOR connects over 400 miles of existing public and commercial fiber to provide service to underserved communities enabling local hosts the ability to serve educational and healthcare institutions, public safety and internet service providers (ISPs) with reliable, resilient, cost competitive services.

The network is designed as a series of geographically diverse fiber loops using world class network equipment from Ciena and Ekinops providing unique advantages for mountain communities allowing Project THOR to automatically re-route traffic when a single fiber is cut or other service outages occur, preventing the hours-long service interruptions which have become commonplace. Project THOR is the result of years of cooperative planning among local governments, a health district, a non-profit, and two regional electric co-ops in conjunction with Colorado State agencies allowing local communities to provide a hub of affordable internet to meet local deployment needs. Local funding for the cooperative venture has been generously matched by two grants through Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) of $1,000,000 for network infrastructure and $270,000 to fund the first three years of fiber leased from CDOT; these grants were matched by funds from the Meet Me Center hosts.

Through Meet Me Centers (where connections come together in a local community), Project THOR empowers the local community by bringing affordable, reliable middle mile access connecting organizations and private entities delivering competitive broadband services to community residents and businesses.

Key Facts About Project THOR

  • Over 400 miles of existing publicly and privately owned fiber along with newly constructed fiber to link communities to existing fiber infrastructure.
  • All Project THOR infrastructure is open access meaning that NWCCOG makes the network available to all providers.
  • DOLA provided $1.25 million dollars in funding fully matched by local contributions Project THOR allows open access transport for providers and ISPs to increase competition, availability, and lower broadband service prices in our rural communities.
  • Project THOR is unique in NWCCOG arranging for existing broadband providers to deliver internet bandwidth to Meet Me Centers at a regional discounted rate because usage is aggregated across all Project THOR participating communities.
  • Funding – State public partnerships include:Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), Governor’s Office of Information Technology Broadband Program Office, CDOT Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) & Network Services.

Project THOR "In the News"

Get Ready for Middle-mile Grants – Doug Dawson, CCG Consulting

May 3, 2022

Alan Davidson, the Administrator of NTIA, recently held a press conference and webcast talking about the $1 billion middle-mile grant program...I envision that the projects with the biggest chance of success will be similar to Project Thor, which was organized by local communities, or to projects done by states to reach remote areas like is…

SUCCESS STORY

DOLA Grant awarded to Project THOR & Region 10

NWCCOG has been awarded a $2,195,758 DOLA Broadband Grant to upgrade the Project THOR network. Region 10 also received a grant to expand and extend their network as well. Because these network upgrades and enhancements have been designated as “Being of Significant Interest to the State”, there is no local match required for these funds.…

SUCCESS STORY

Tom Clements Award Honorable Mention 2020

Nate Walowitz, NWCCOG Regional Broadband Director, receives Honorable Mention by Gov. Polis' Office for Outstanding Service in Government for the Tom Clements award. As the Cameron Creek fire raged, Nate's effort over one weekend to connect Estes Park was heroic and innovative, drawing upon many partners developed over the years through NWCCOG’s Broadband Program. (photo credit Josh Cramer).

Project THOR "In the News"

Internet service in western Colorado was so terrible that towns and counties built their own telecom – The Colorado Sun

Project THOR’s launch was featured in the Colorado Sun. "Internet outages became a distant memory this month as a good chunk of western Colorado turned on a new broadband system. But this wasn’t built by a typical telecom. It took a band of local governments and partners from 14 rural communities to stitch together the 481-mile network, dubbed “Project Thor.”    

Success Story

Breckenridge Fiber 9600

Things move fast in Breck. The Town  invested in an extensive network of public fiber to accelerate innovative solutions to major challenges. The TOB was the first to connect to Project THOR through a Summit County hosted Meet-me-Center location to support their ambitious municipal broadband project, known as Fiber9600  as a part of the multipronged Breck Forward sustainability initiative.  

News & Media Coverage

Testimonials

Nathan Walowitz

Nathan Walowitz

Originally from the east coast and more recently from Evergreen, Nate Walowitz has over 20 years of experience designing, and developing communication solutions for government and public safety enterprise clients. He’s guided the selection and implementation of new approaches for cost effectively delivering and supporting broadband and wireless communicator services...
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