Access to high speed and quality technology is something that many of us who live and work in Colorado's metropolitan Front Range cities may take for granted. However, there are areas in Colorado where something as commonplace as Internet access is difficult, costly and in some cases unattainable for Colorado residents. This disparity between rural and urban areas is known as the Digital-Divide.

To eliminate this telecommunications gap, the State has created and is currently implementing the new telecommunications model for Colorado: The Multi-Use Network (MNT). Colorado's MNT is a public/private partnership to build a high-speed fiber-optic network for the State of Colorado. MNT is bridging the Digital-Divide, promoting economic development, providing a strong backbone for e-government and providing the infrastructure to aggregate to reduce costs.

MNT also allows for the elimination of backhaul charges in many areas throughout the state of Colorado, which is a key benefit of this new telecommunications model. For rural areas, backhauling adds considerable expense to network connections because it commonly uses circuits that are priced by distance. MNT is being conducted in three phases in which 70 Aggregated Network Access Points (ANAPs) will be implemented across the State. Service will be delivered over the new fiber optic network utilizing ATM technology. Forty-three ANAPs have already been implemented in Phase I; an additional eleven ANAPs will be implemented in Phase II, this year; and the final sixteen ANAPs will be implemented in Phase III, year 2003. We look forward to keeping you continually updated on the progress of MNT in future issues of MNT News. In the meantime, you can visit the MNT Web site at www.state.co.us/MNT for current news regarding this project, or by calling the toll-free MNT Hotline at 1-866-MNT-COLO.