[1st-mile-nm] Mountain Connect Broadband Development Conference highlights

[Richard Lowenberg]

 From the Grand Junction Sentinel, re: Colorado broadband projects.  RL
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A lesson in broadband projects

By Dennis Webb
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/articles/a-lesson-in-broadband-projects

Venturing into public-sector broadband development has provided benefits 
and lessons for county and local governments in Colorado, according to 
speakers Tuesday at an annual conference.

Representatives from Rio Blanco County, Cortez, Glenwood Springs and 
Fort Morgan were among speakers at the Mountain Connect Broadband 
Development Conference that was held Sunday through Tuesday in Keystone.

Cortez and Glenwood Springs have had municipal broadband projects since 
the early 2000s. Rio Blanco County has been in the process of installing 
an ambitious countywide project in cooperation with entities such as the 
towns of Rangely and Meeker and the state Department of Local Affairs.

Fort Morgan is in the design phase of a project, following frustration 
about having companies decide against expanding locally because of lack 
of adequate local broadband capacity.

Josh Miller, Fort Morgan’s community services and economic development 
director, said the community also wants to cater to telecommuters 
looking to take advantage of Fort Morgan’s proximity to Denver 
International Airport.

Rick Smith, general services director for the city of Cortez, said the 
city’s broadband infrastructure proved crucial when the locally based 
Osprey Packs outdoor gear company was looking to expand and was deciding 
whether to do so in Cortez or in other locations such as Salt Lake City.

“It became a nonstarter if we had not had fiber” availability, said 
Smith, who said that in that case Osprey “would have been gone” rather 
than ultimately deciding to expand locally.

Now surrounding Montezuma County is looking to build on what Cortez has 
done by seeking voter authority for the county to get into broadband. It 
also may ask voters to create a broadband authority and support it with 
a one-cent sales tax.

Bob Farmer, information services director for Glenwood Springs, took a 
philosophical view to the importance of that city’s project.

“Obviously I feel broadband is very important to what we do, to what 
Glenwood Springs is, to make Glenwood Springs better,” he said.

“I want my children to have adequate access to technology when they grow 
up and that starts with me. It doesn’t start with waiting for them to do 
something.”

Blake Mobley, Rio Blanco’s information technology director, said 
communication with affected parties has been important during the 
installation phase of that county’s fiber project when it comes to 
dealing with issues such as impacts on streets and alleys during 
installation. Speakers also told of the need to do installations that 
can accommodate future upgrades as electronics evolve and broadband 
speeds increase, and also accommodate an increase in customer numbers 
over time.

Miller said Fort Morgan officials have visited Glenwood Springs and 
other communities already involved in broadband to learn from their 
experiences as Fort Morgan embarks on its project.

Mobley said Rio Blanco County has benefited from a long-term 
relationship with Meeker, Rangely, the local school district and other 
entities at the information-technology staff level. When the county 
asked the communities about overlaying the two towns with its broadband 
network, “they were more than happy to allow us to utilize their 
right-of-ways,” he said.


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Richard Lowenberg, Executive Director
1st-Mile Institute     505-603-5200
Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504,
rl at 1st-mile.org     www.1st-mile.org
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