Bayfield Broadband and Feasibility Study

The Town of Bayfield wanted to explore a broadband and feasibility study to provide reliable, cost-effective, and fast broadband internet service in the community to support economic development and quality of life. Bayfield has multiple providers in the community and existing infrastructure installed through the regional Southwest Colorado Area Network (SCAN) project, but many older areas of the town were underserved.

The Town Board and its leadership worked closely to assess the current state of the community and its level of broadband service. The Bayfield broadband and feasibility study included a Vision phase in which the city developed a plan to leverage existing assets, understand business and residential satisfaction, and prioritize its community goals.

In the Planning phase of the project, HR Green created preliminary broadband design alternatives, developed financial feasibility cost models, and established a potential partnership structure that would leverage state grant funds to create a Public-Private Partnership (P3) solution. Upon establishing financial feasibility, a Request for Expression of Interest (EOI) was distributed and four potential partners were identified who were interested in further discussions.

The next phase of the Bayfield broadband project will be to pursue grant funding and fully develop the potential partnerships, engineer the planned town-owned, open-access core network, and complete a joint Fiber to the Home buildout. Bayfield plans to develop grant funding applications as soon as possible by the Town to advance the project based on the planning completed to date.