Colorado Selects Critigen and BroadMap

20 April 2010, 11:32pm

Greenwood Village, CO - April 20, 2010: The Colorado Governor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) announced today that it has chosen Critigen, a global technology consultancy for critical infrastructure, and BroadMap, a leading provider of turnkey GIS solutions, to create a comprehensive map of state-wide broadband availability, updating and building upon the baseline map that was released in December of last year. The project is funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), which has allotted $7.2 billion for the development and expansion of broadband nationwide. $350 million of the ARRA is set aside for the Broadband Data Improvement Act enabling states and territories to develop granular and transparent broadband serviceability maps.

“Broadband is a game-changing technology for our communities, transforming how we deliver education, health care, and government services,” said Colorado State CIO Michael Locatis. “Mapping broadband availability helps us ensure that no Coloradan is left out.”

In November of 2009, OIT received $1.6 million from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, for broadband data collection and mapping activities over a two-year period. The partnership between Critigen and BroadMap will ensure that Colorado and its citizens receive the most benefit from this stimulus funding.

Critigen and BroadMap will incorporate multiple sources of location data and feedback from the state’s broadband data providers as well as community anchor institutions – schools, hospitals, senior centers and more – to build the broadband serviceability map. The two companies bring a wealth of experience to the project. Critigen, the world’s largest privately-held geospatial consulting business, will provide local expertise and enhance the project’s community focus by providing broadband availability data to local stakeholders for review and dissemination. BroadMap, experts in aggregating critical data, will compile location information and validate the accuracy of the map.

The map data collected and developed for Colorado by Critigen and BroadMap will also be displayed on the NTIA’s national broadband map, a tool that will help to inform policymakers' efforts into the future.

Critigen

Broadmap

Geo: International