[1st-mile-nm] Mountain Connect Broadband Development Conference highlights
Richard Lowenberg
rl at 1st-mile.org
Tue Jun 14 10:21:39 PDT 2016
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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