Fort Collins broadband faces long road ahead
Kevin Duggan
Fort Collins voters are a step closer to deciding whether the city may provide high-speed internet service to homes and businesses.
However, there are a lot more steps to be taken before the proposed service becomes a reality.
The City Council on Tuesday approved on first reading an ordinance setting ballot language for a measure in the Nov. 7 election seeking voter permission to establish a telecommunications utility. Second reading of the ordinance is Aug. 15.
If voters approve the proposal, the city could set up the utility and issue up to $150 million in bonds to pay for building and operating a fiber optic network.
The system would be designed to deliver internet speeds up to 1 gigabit per second for uploads and downloads. In time, the system could provide multiple-gig speeds, city officials say.
But voter approval doesn’t guarantee the municipal utility would be established.
The ballot language does not require the city to go into the internet business and compete against established providers such as Comcast and CenturyLink. It also does not spell out the business model the city would follow.
It could be a “retail” model through which the city would build, operate and maintain a broadband system, or it could be done through agreements with one or more existing service providers.
All of that still needs to be determined. With so many details about the city’s potential venture into broadband yet to be determined, it's possible voters might be asked again about the service and its business model, said Mayor pro tem Gerry Horak.
A lot more time and money will be spent before going forward with building a fiber-optic “backbone” that would be used by the utility, he said. One certainty, Horak said, is that if voters say “no” to the city’s proposal, that will be end of it, from his perspective.
“It would be a clear sign not to spend another dime on this until the citizens decide something else,” he said.
The ordinance passed on a 5-2 vote, with council members Ray Martinez and Ken Summers opposed.
Martinez said he might support the measure on second reading, but only if he gets more answers about how the service would function and at what cost to the city and consumers.
The proposition looks risky based on the city’s own threat/opportunity analysis, Martinez said.
“The risks that are listed far outweigh the opportunities,” he said.
Summers said voters should have more specifics to consider, including a firm business plan, before moving forward.
But other council members said the city could provide an important service that residents and businesses want.
Mayor Wade Troxell said a fiber-optic network would provide “future-proofing” for internet access and be a critical economic-development tool.
The goal is to make high-speed internet service available throughout the city and its Growth Management Area.
The city isn’t talking about providing content along the lines of what Comcast and other businesses provide, Troxell said. It’s talking about providing infrastructure to deliver content at speeds that would meet the community’s needs while keeping pace with technological changes.
“We’re looking out for our community and looking forward as it relates to fiber and connectivity and all the other … communication technologies basically right on top of fiber capacity,” Troxell said.
If the city’s proposal reaches the ballot, citizen groups are expected to form to campaign for and against the measure. Established providers are likely to actively oppose the proposal and undercut the city's price for service.
On Tuesday, longtime local resident and businessman Bob Carnahan said residents do not have enough information to make an informed decision about whether the city should get into such a competitive business.
Without solid information, voters would be making decisions based on emotion and wants, he said.
“I encourage you all to put the brakes on this rush to the ballot to do due diligence on financial responsibilities, particularly on deployment,” Carnahan said.
Supporters of the city’s plan encouraged council to move forward with the project. Resident Glen Akins said the city’s financial projections for the service — a projected 28.2 percent “take rate” for households and paying off its debt in 15 years — look solid.
Municipal broadband would add to the city’s reputation for having great resources and a great lifestyle, he said.
“I think the question you have to ask yourself is, ‘Do you want be known as a city with really good broadband, or do you want to be known as just another city with Comcast?’” Akins said.
Kevin Duggan is a Coloradoan senior reporter covering local government. Follow him on Twitter, @coloradoan_dugg, and on Facebook at Coloradoan Kevin Duggan.
What’s next
The expected timeline of events if Fort Collins voters allow the city to provide telecommunications services and the proposed utility is established:
- December and 2018: Design, planning and permitting
- 2019: Construction, first customer service
- 2020 to 2022: System buildout and increased customer availability
- 2023 and beyond: Upgrades as needed
By the numbers
Projections for municipal broadband in Fort Collins with symmetrical speeds, meaning the same for uploads and downloads:
Residential service costs
- 50 Mbps: $50/month
- 1 Gbps: $70/month
- Voice: $25/month
Commercial service
- 25 Mbps: $69.95/month
- 50 Mbps: $99.95/month
- 100 Mbps: $135.95/month
- 1 Gbps: $799.95/month
Note: Pricing for commercial service would be lower if asymmetrical speeds were provided for downloads and uploads.