Custer County OKs Visionary Broadband tower after debate over BEAD‑funded fiber plans

Custer County commissioners unanimously approved a special‑use permit Oct. 8 allowing Visionary Broadband to replace an existing communications tower at the Riggs family property with a new structure at the Sangre de Cristo (Kettle) substation.

The hearing centered on competing priorities: Visionary said the new tower would add service to about 100 currently unserved residences and enable upgrades for roughly 800 existing customers, while county officials and consultants warned that a tower covering nearby population centers could affect eligibility for future fiber grants.

"If this new tower is not approved, then at some point ... we will have to terminate our service to those folks in that area," Brian Shepherd, vice president of network expansion for Visionary Broadband, told the board, describing the Riggs family’s desire to end the lease on their property and the company’s plan to move equipment to the substation. Shepherd said the tower can be built in "about 3 to 4 weeks" and that the company has already done engineering and has state grant support tied to the replacement and expansion.

Mark Carmel, a consultant to the towns and county who has worked on the broadband project since 2019, urged caution. He recounted earlier plans favoring a fiber‑to‑the‑premises (FTTP) network and said initial cost estimates of about $15 million rose to $30–40 million after the pandemic. "If you want a future‑proof broadband network, I think that approval of this tower is premature," Carmel said, arguing that a tall wireless tower covering the towns could cause those homes to be marked as "served" and therefore ineligible for some grant programs.

Eric Rupleski, president of Hilltop Broadband, said Hilltop had a neutral stance on the permit and summarized the county’s multi‑year public‑private partnership and competitive grant pursuit. Rupleski acknowledged Visionary won the larger BEAD awards covering the towns and said Hilltop had limited success in other pockets.

Visionary and Hilltop both described redundancy plans. Shepherd said Visionary purchases backhaul from CenturyLink/Lumen and also operates wireless microwave backhaul; the company plans further upgrades and additional microwave links toward Canon City and Canyon City to provide redundancy. "We essentially have redundant backhaul," Shepherd said, adding that microwave can be used as a fallback if a land‑based fiber route is temporarily interrupted.

Commissioners repeatedly pressed speakers for timing and risk details. The board raised the Riggs family lease, which shepherds said extends through December 2026 but contains clauses for earlier release, as a rationale for moving promptly if the county wants to avoid service disruption. Visionary representatives emphasized that the tower project is technically separate from BEAD‑funded fiber builds for the towns, which they said already have tentative BEAD allocations.

Public commenters offered mixed views. Some urged approval to avoid leaving residents without practical options; others said the county should hold out for more durable fiber middle‑mile solutions. Mark Carmel noted that federal and state grant pools are limited and that cost‑per‑passing rules favored denser population centers, leaving many rural passes costly to serve.

After public comment the board moved and seconded approval of the Visionary Broadband special‑use permit; commissioners called "aye" and the chair declared the permit approved. Visionary representatives thanked the board and the hearing was adjourned.

The board’s action permits Visionary to replace the aging tower, start site work and move forward with construction as timing and weather allow; commissioners and providers left on record a shared commitment to continue pursuing middle‑mile redundancy and other steps to bolster long‑term resiliency.