The future of the EAGLE-Net Alliance will be...

it now faces financial struggles and a search for a third-party operator (CD May 8 p12) that will provide funds to continue building out on Colorado’s western slope, despite persistent concerns from critics. The office of Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., is soliciting feedback from stakeholders throughout the state, according to emails shown to us. “Thank you for providing feedback to the federal delegation representatives,” Monisha Merchant, Bennet’s senior adviser for business affairs, wrote in a Thursday email to stakeholders. “NTIA staff will come to Durango on June 12th to meet with stakeholders across Western Colorado and answer your questions regarding the EAGLE-Net project.” NTIA confirmed this meeting to us and characterized it as part of the federal government’s ongoing efforts to oversee the broadband stimulus grantee and find win-win solutions for interested stakeholders. Bennet “would like NTIA to work closely with Colorado communities to make sure this program is successful so that rural communities and schools get the broadband access they need and our tax dollars are used efficiently and appropriately,” a spokesman for the senator told us by email. The senator supports “the objective of creating a statewide education network to connect our schools and community institutions, while bringing open access middle mile broadband infrastructure,” he said. Bennet’s office has alerted the federal government to “concerns we've heard from local incumbent providers and communities,” said the spokesman. The spokesman said that for this upcoming meeting, Bennet’s office has “directly connected our Colorado telecom providers, school district officials, and community leaders from the Western Slope to the Eastern Plains with NTIA staff to discuss collaborative options within the grant guidelines to find [a] win-win solution.”