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Pitkin County telecom director details network growth, 1,400 public‑safety radios and budget pressure
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Summary
Telecom Director Drew Peterson told the Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners that the county’s telecommunications operation now supports extensive broadcast translators, a fixed‑wireless broadband initiative and statewide interoperable public‑safety radios — but rising operating costs and changing federal grant landscapes threaten planned rebuilds like the Ajax site.
Drew Peterson, Pitkin County’s telecommunications director, told the Board of County Commissioners on April 21 that the county has built a resilient mix of broadcast, backhaul and public‑safety systems but now faces mounting operational and capital pressures.
Peterson said the county manages 21 distinct television channels (via six translator sites and 36 net translator frequencies) and rebroadcasts 13 local radio stations across 41 FM translators. He described those services as public, free and important to residents and visitors who lack reliable mobile data in the valley’s most remote areas.
Peterson also summarized the Pitkin County Broadband Initiative (PCBI). He said voters approved a funding mill levy in 2011 to support last‑mile fixed‑wire broadband and that the effort accelerated in 2018. The county has leveraged public‑private partnerships — naming Path Finder as a network manager — and currently serves nearly 250 residences through six fixed‑wireless sites, with capacity to offer higher speed tiers as new equipment is adopted.
On the public‑safety side, Peterson said the county programs and maintains radios for roughly 37 departments and agencies — “over 1,400 radios” — and supports dispatch consoles and interoperable operations through the statewide Consolidated Communications Network Colorado (CCNC) and the DTRS network. He credited the county’s backhaul (microwave and fiber) and redundant meet‑me centers with keeping systems robust and resilient.
Peterson provided an inventory of recent infrastructure work and growth: he said the county now operates about 26 locations, 28 microwave hops, 20 towers and 11 mountaintop sites, along with multiple dispatch centers and buried fiber linking municipalities on the valley floor.
Despite that expansion, Peterson laid out key constraints. Operating expenses are increasing, vendor costs have risen and grant programs have shifted. He described recent federal grant reallocations that complicated middle‑mile funding for many rural networks and called out the difficulty of replacing equipment as vendors retire older product lines. Peterson warned that one critical rebuild — the Ajax mountaintop site — was pushed into a 2027–28 timetable and currently faces a budget shortfall; staff are working with finance and the forest service to prepare a construction plan for approval.
Peterson and his team also addressed wildfire resilience and site maintenance. He said telecom staff perform yearly clearing around sites, maintain access roads and coordinate with local fire districts; Kyle Nelson, the telecom manager, described flights of hand crews to the Elephant site for vegetation work and ongoing assessments to keep mountaintop infrastructure operational during fire season.
In questions, commissioners asked how the county tracks obsolescence and whether low‑Earth‑orbit services (Starlink and similar) make county systems obsolete. Peterson said he plans for roughly a 10‑year life cycle on microwave backhaul and monitors vendor support timelines; he also noted that alternative technologies can supplement but do not fully replace broadcast translators and FM radio for remote residents who lack other connections.
Next steps: Peterson said staff will continue capital planning for Ajax, pursue state and Colorado Broadband Office grant opportunities, and work with regional partners (Project Thor, Holy Cross Energy and neighboring municipalities) to explore additional fiber and backhaul options. He asked the board to consider the ongoing operational expense trend when reviewing budgets and future capital requests.
Quote excerpts: “We manage the radios of 37 different departments and agencies, which is over 1,400 radios that we’re responsible for” (Drew Peterson).
