[1st-mile-nm] Cortez Council moves forward with broadband pilot

[Richard Lowenberg]

Cortez Council moves forward with broadband pilot
Residents may sign up for wireless plan

By Stephanie Alderton Journal Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 28, 2018

https://the-journal.com/articles/90626

The Cortez City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve the fees 
and costs for a broadband pilot program.

Through the program, dubbed the Cortez Community Network Pilot, the city 
will install in-home wireless devices called GigaCenters, and provide 
fiber to connect some residents with the city’s existing network.

Installation will cost $150, and participants in the pilot will pay $60 
per month, plus a $10 rental fee for the device, to get internet speeds 
of up to 100 Mbps. The program is designed to test whether the city can 
become a long-term internet service provider.

General Services Director Rick Smith proposed the project during a 
council workshop on March 13, saying it could help the city provide 
high-speed internet directly to more residents, which has been a 
longtime goal for his department.

Depending on how the program goes, the General Services department might 
end up building a citywide network.

The city already has a fiber network in several areas of town, including 
some residential areas. According to the resolution that the council 
approved, the CCN pilot will charge $150 for city staff to install up to 
250 feet of additional fiber to connect homes with that network, but 
residents will be responsible for digging the ditches through which the 
fiber can run. The $10 rental fee for a GigaCenter will include a 
replacement in case it is damaged.

Smith’s proposal could potentially provide more bandwidth to 
participants than the commercial internet providers on which most Cortez 
residents have relied in the past. According to its website, CenturyLink 
offers speeds of up to 20 Mbps for a minimum of $45 per month to Cortez 
residents. A Montezuma County-based provider, Zumacom, advertises up to 
25 Mbps for $129.99 per month.

Smith said the CCN Pilot program is in high demand.

“I’ve got about a dozen people waiting to get on the pilot already,” he 
said.

Most of the council members’ discussion during their meeting focused on 
potential legal issues with the pilot, like whether the city would be 
liable to pay for a stolen GigaCenter, and whether the fiber installed 
as part of the project would belong to the city or the resident. City 
Manager Shane Hale said he believed stolen devices would be covered by 
residents’ insurance, and City Attorney Mike Green said all materials 
provided by the city will still belong to the city throughout the 
program.

Mayor Karen Sheek praised Smith and the city staff for moving forward so 
quickly with the project. She asked Smith to keep the council updated on 
how many people join the pilot.

“I think we should have a giant thermometer down there at the Service 
Center ... to show progress,” she joked.

On Wednesday, Smith confirmed via email that 11 residents and businesses 
are in various stages of being connected through the pilot program. He 
said 58 other people and businesses have requested broadband when it 
becomes available in their areas.

Anyone interested in joining the pilot should go to the Cortez Service 
Center on 110 W. Progress Circle to find out whether it’s available to 
them, he said. Right now, the pilot is limited to parts of the city 
where fiber has already been installed.



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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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