Pitkin and Garfield Counties are working together to expand broadband to remote areas of their counties by creating the Garfield Pitkin Broadband Authority Board.
At the joint work session on Tuesday, Pitkin County and Garfield County approved moving forward with the formal creation of the board, which will be responsible for the long-term operations of the fixed-wireless broadband service.
The two boards of county commissioners also agreed to pay a $125,000 subsidy toward the project. At upcoming meetings, the counties will decide over which period of time that subsidy will be paid.
The broadband board is made up of one county commissioner from Pitkin County and one from Garfield County, two community representatives appointed by each county and one at-large appointed by Garfield County.
As of now, the Garfield Pitkin Broadband Authority Board will order parts in April to contruct the wireless infrastructure in June. Though, Pitkin County officials say the parts are coming from overseas, so the timeline may be pushed back because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The board will work with wireless service providers, including Cedar Networks in Carbondale, Willits, Snowmass Village and Aspen, and Mammoth Networks in Pitkin County.
More definitive plans on the broadband expansion in Pitkin and Garfield Counties will be approved in the coming months.