Longmont’s fiber

Matthew Jonas

Longmont Power & Communications Outside Plant Engineer J.J. Brockert marks a wall before installing an Optical Network Terminal, a device that will convert the fiber optic cable connection to ethernet Tuesday at Chamber of Commerce building in Longmont. To watch a video, visit www.timescall.com.

Matthew Jonas

Longmont Power and Communications Outside Plant Engineer J.J. Brockert drills a hole through the wall of the Pumphouse Brewery and Restaurant to install fiber Tuesday. The high-speed connection will be used to supply wireless internet to customers.

Matthew Jonas

A vault containing a fiber optic splice box where connections to customers are made is seen in the alley Tuesday in Longmont.

What: Vince Jordan will explain to businesses what their options are for plugging into the city's fiber-optic loop

When: 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday, May 9

Where: Longmont City Council chambers, inside the Civic Center at 350 Kimbark St.

Open to: All Longmont-area businesses

To RSVP: Space is limited. Contact Wendi at 303-651-0128 or by email at [email protected].

LONGMONT — Longmont's fiber-optic loop is lighting up.

With no promotion and no outreach to businesses, a few have already signed up to become subscribers to the city's loop, and another 40 or so have contacted Vince Jordan, broadband services manager for Longmont Power & Communications.

"I emailed Vince asking when I could get on," said Michael Jurey, network/telecommunication specialist for Longmont Clinic. "Luckily, the loop ran right by Longmont Clinic. On our side of the street no less."

Jurey said the city's network is three times faster than the speeds the clinic got before at a cost savings of $1,600 a month.

This week, Longmont Power and the Longmont Area Economic Council will host a workshop telling businesses how they can get piped into the network. Then, a week from Tuesday night the city's fiber optic loop will be the main topic of discussion at the Longmont City Council meeting.

"We are bringing to council a business plan to build out all of Longmont," Jordan said. "It's the whole enchilada."

The fact that there has so far been only limited rollout is due to economics. Currently, the installations are being paid for from a reserve fund that Longmont Power has built up over the years leasing portions of its fiber-optic loop to entities such as Longmont United Hospital and a third-party provider that services the school district. Those leases bring in about $250,000 annually, Jordan said.

For 2013, the Longmont City Council authorized LPC to use $375,000 of that reserve fund to begin connecting businesses and residents to the loop.

Under the current model, Jordan said LPC has a "build threshold" of 21/2 years of payback time. That means that if a business that signs up to use the city's loop can pay back the cost of connecting to it within 21/2 years or less, that business won't be charged for the connection. If the payback time is more than 21/2 years, then the business will have to make up the difference.

"We are going to do some residential this year but our focus is really going to be on the commercial, because that's the biggest benefit to the community right now," Jordan said.

And while nearly 1,300 Longmont businesses are within 500 feet of the city's fiber loop, that doesn't mean that they’re all easily hooked up to it.

"You could be 500 feet away, but I’ve got to do two road crossings? That gets expensive," Jordan said.

Other factors are also being considered when businesses apply to become subscribers, he said.

"We are prioritizing with the businesses we are working with right now," Jordan said. "We’re really focused on economic development, so the ones that will put the most dollars (they save on broadband costs) back into their business, those are the ones we’re working with first."

Jordan wouldn't reveal exactly what Longmont Power's business plans are for building out the entire city, saying he wants to deliver that message in person at the upcoming City Council meeting. But he said that just using reserves to fund the build-out and then continuing to build out as new revenues are generated from new customers would take decades to get anyone who wants it access to the loop. To expedite the build-out, extra up-front dollars will have to be allocated, but where those dollars will come from is yet to be determined, Jordan said, adding that ultimately, the decision will lie with City Council.

Money savings and speed are two of the big reasons businesses have been inquiring about the network so far, Jordan said, but those aren't the only reasons.

"We’re symmetrical," he said. "Our uploads and downloads are the same. I’m finding that's setting us apart more than anything else."

Under the current price structure, businesses can get 50 megabits per second, symmetrical, plus eight email boxes for $154.95 per month. One hundred Mbps, symmetrical, plus 15 email boxes is $299.95 per month, and 250 Mbps, symmetrical, plus 20 email boxes is $499.95 per month.

Another early adopter to the city's loop is the Pumphouse, of which Longmont Mayor Dennis Coombs is co-owner. The brewpub and restaurant has signed up for the 100 Mbps symmetrical package.

"We use it for two reasons," said one of the other three owners, Dave D’Epagnier. "No. 1 is our business functions — we process credit cards with it … just normal day-to-day business activities. Plus, it's a big place, and we could have 50 customers that are using the broadband all at once."

The other thing that attracted him and the other owners was that the business was finally able to tap into the city-owned network after so many years of having to buy high-speed service from a commercial provider. And that is all thanks to the voters, D’Epagnier said.

The city's 17-mile fiber loop was first put in 16 years ago — its $1.1 million price tag paid for by Platte River Power Authority.

The original plan was for a private-sector company to provide high-speed connectivity to residents and businesses using the city's infrastructure. But an early partner in the project went bankrupt, and in 2005 the Colorado Legislature passed a law prohibiting municipalities from accessing their own fiber, even though they owned it, without a vote of its residents authorizing it. The first time it came before Longmont voters, in 2009, 56 percent of them voted against it. But in 2011 it came back again and 61 percent of voters approved allowing Longmont Power to explore ways to best use the loop. That yes vote came despite a nearly a half-million dollar advertising campaign from existing telecommunication providers who were urging a "no" vote.

Tony Kindelspire can be reached at 303-684-5291 or at [email protected].

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