Broadband

Residents of Eagle have made it known loud and clear that they desire more reliable, faster, and cheaper internet. The internet and broadband service is a dependency for public safety, emergency services, local business, and for a quality of life on par with other communities in the valley and across Colorado. Since internet service is at the mercy of private company investment and service offerings, the Town of Eagle has responded to resident feedback and chosen to participate in Northwest Colorado Council of Governments' Project THOR to better facilitate and incentive public/ private partnerships, increase broadband availability, and to provide additional opportunities for service that are currently unavailable. The Town of Eagle is convening a broadband committee to help collect community feedback and provide constructive direction for public and private deployment of Project THOR as well as additional broadband service options to residents and businesses within the Town and outlying areas. 

Town of Eagle Broadband Committee Purpose:

  • To help the Town by being a sounding board for broadband solutions both public and private
  • To assist with the feasibility study conducted by Uptown's services*
  • To provide local expertise in the process, recommendations to the board and implementing solutions

Timeline and Next Steps

March 2019 - Town of Eagle Board of Trustees approves the contract to purchase a Meet-Me Center as a part of Project THOR

May 2019 - RFP process begins to select a firm to conduct a feasibility study about the Town of Eagle's Broadband needs

July 2019 - Uptown Services is awarded the RFP for the Town of Eagle, begins initial research phase

October 2019 - Community survey via phone and online response conducted

November 2019 - Second Committee meeting and presentation of survey results

December 2019 - Initial draft report complete and presented to Town Staff

December 2019/ January 2020 - Report presented to Board of Trustees with scenarios for action and next steps

September 2020 - Council Work Session to review middle mile implementation and last-mile budget scenarios

October 2020 - Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) Installation RFP issued, Funding RFP issued.

December 2020 - Council Work Session to review pro forma for FTTP last-mile installation.

The Town expects to bring funding proposals and installation costs to the council in Early 2021 for direction on future last-mile installation. 

Private Sector Solutions and Comcast

The Town is currently working with Comcast to bring its services to Eagle. You can follow their progress and get specific answers regarding Comcast plans on their Eagle-specific website at http://colorado.comcast.com/eagle

In response to the September 2020 event in Gypsum, the Town of Eagle has worked with Comcast, SEFNCO, and Black Hills Energy to add additional safety measures and communication to the Comcast project in Eagle. A recording of the Town Hall can be seen here.

We are working to put communication towers on water tanks to have local providers utilize Town infrastructure. We are working with Century Link to improve local customer service.

Public Sector Solutions – Project THOR

  • Regional collaboration of a 100 gb/s redundant and resilient network for ISP and transport
  • Installation of the MMC expected in November
  • Open access to interested parties
  • Work on rates and use agreements in an ongoing discussion among MMC owners

State of Colorado Broadband Office

The State of Colorado Broadband Office has published a storymap to describe the state of broadband service in Colorado. Please follow this link to access the interactive report.

The State of Colorado has made expanding rural broadband a top priority. To facilitate more accurate mapping of service levels in rural communities, the state has created the following survey. We encourage residents to provide their information below. This will assist the Town, Public, and Private partners potentially capture funding for improving broadband in areas currently deemed ineligible by current mapping standards. 

State of Colorado Broadband Speed Survey - https://gis.colorado.gov/speedtest/

On October 30, 2020, the State Broadband Working Group published a report outlining Governor Polis' Initiatives for broadband, outlining steps forward for governance, data accuracy, sustainable funding, and future technologies. Read the full report here.

More information on the State Broadband Office website - https://broadband.co.gov/

Feasibility Study with Uptown Services

Upcoming Feasibility study designed to fully assess the broadband needs for the Town of Eagle, with financial analysis and implementation plans.

Phase 1 - Research and Vision

Phase 2 - Planning Study

Phase 3 - Assess Public Policy Options

Final Report - Buildout model design, revenue forecast, data for BOT decision. This will provide the Board of Trustees options on how best to proceed:

  • Municipal Service Delivery
  • Public-Private Partnership
  • Policy to Facilitate Private