One Hundred Colorado Communities Opt-Out of Restrictive Broadband Law

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More Colorado communities are opting out of the state’s restrictive SB 152, passed in 2005, which prevents the state’s municipalities from creating their own broadband networks. To date, 100 communities have already voted against the bill. Now, two more communities – Eagle County and the City of Alamosa – will vote this fall on whether to reclaim control of these networks.

In Eagle County, officials have included telecommunications in their legislative policy statement, supporting their intent to reclaim local authority and bring connectivity to both urban and rural areas of the county. Although a plan for publicly owned infrastructure is not yet in place, officials want to work on opting out of SB 152 first.

In Alamosa, where over half of the residents live in the city, they’re interested in using existing city owned dark fiber and conduit, in addition to exploring possible public-private partnerships, but they’ve not ruled out offering direct services either. Alamosa also intends to offer free WiFi in certain areas while they consider viable solutions. Similar to Eagle County, they don’t have an infrastructure plan yet but will put SB 152 to a vote in the fall.

It seems that Coloradoans see the need for high-speed internet access and are more in favor of reclaiming local authority and choice when it comes to this matter. In preparation for voting measures, the Colorado Municipal League and Colorado Communities, Inc., have created the SB-152 Opt Out Kit: A Local Government Blueprint For Improving Broadband Service in Your Community to help educate voters prior to ballots being cast.

August 24, 2017     

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