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Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
Boulder Strikes $9 Million Broadband Deal With ALLO
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The Boulder, Colorado city council has voted unanimously (9-0) in favor of striking a $9 million deal with Nebraska based ALLO Communications that should ultimately provide fast fiber access to most of the city’s 330,000 residents.
The particulars of the agreement involve ALLO leasing part of the city’s fiber network as part of a 20 year agreement. ALLO will pay Boulder a $1.5 million upfront lease payment and provide the city $2.25 per residential and $9 per business customer per month plus 1.5 percent of revenue from any wholesale lease. The total deal is estimated to be worth $9 million to the city.
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“This achievement stems from a 2018 decision by the City Council to construct a citywide fiber backbone,” city officials said of the deal. “This forward-thinking initiative secured the city's future ability to support various broadband business models, ensuring long-term flexibility and growth in digital infrastructure.”
As per the deal, ALLO will provide broadband service to 80 percent of the city by 2028 and 97 percent of the city by 2030.
ALLO currently provides broadband access to more than 1.2 million customers throughout Colorado, Nebraska, Arizona, and Missouri.
In deployed markets, ALLO offers locals two tiers of fiber service: symmetrical one gigabit per second (1 Gbps) for $98 a month, and symmetrical 2.3 Gbps service for $126 a month.
Boulder is largely dominated by Comcast Xfinity and sees little real competition resulting in spotty access, high prices, and substandard customer service.
“ALLO will ensure equitable access to broadband services for all Boulder community members, by offering discounted rates that will be offered to low-income households,” city officials say of the deal. “In addition, ALLO will provide free internet access to 25 local non-profit organizations, ensuring that community organizations have the tools they need to thrive in a digital world.”
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Local news outlet the Daily Camera indicates that the partnership will not extend broadband into unincorporated Boulder County, but should the city annex these areas ALLO will be required to make “commercially reasonable efforts” to extend fiber access into these new territories.
The ALLO partnership is the culmination of a six year effort to improve broadband access in Boulder. In 2018 the City Council committed to ensuring citywide, affordable broadband service for Boulder homes and businesses, culminating in the construction of a $20 million fiber backbone that was completed this year.
City staffers had initially proposed three potential options: a city owned and operated municipal Internet utility, co-ownership of a utility in partnership with a private company that manages operations, or allowing a partner company to own and operate the utility.
Boulder Mayor Pro Tem Nicole Speer tells the Daily Camera she is “a little bit nervous” about bringing a for-profit company into the mix, but noted that officials are pleased the city found “a middle ground” that makes “sure our community is looked out for,” after acknowledging the city couldn’t afford to fully own and operate its own last mile municipal utility.
Inline image of downtown Boulder as seen from Flagstaff mountain at sunrise courtesy of Flickr user Bo Insogna, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
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