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.