Glen Akins

From where I stand, Connexion, Fort Collins’ citywide gigabit fiber broadband service, will be successful because there’s a pent-up demand for an option other than the two incumbent providers.

This demand is easily seen in the results of the November 2017 ballot issue that authorized the financing and construction of the network. The opposition spent a record-setting $901,000 against the ballot issue. Those in favor spent just over $15,000. Despite being outspent by 60 to 1, voters approved the network 57% to 43%.

The demand is primarily driven by frustrations with the current providers. CenturyLink offers a gigabit service but it’s only available in a few select neighborhoods. Everywhere else is stuck with ancient DSL technology. Unlike CenturyLink, Connexion will offer fast, symmetric gigabit speeds everywhere within city limits.

5G technology isn’t here yet and will never be a substitute for a fiber connection. Millimeter-wave 5G, which offers the fastest wireless speeds, has poor coverage.

Where Verizon has deployed it in football stadiums, it can’t even cover the entire stadium. Where Verizon has deployed it in urban corridors, it only works outdoors.

The other view: Connexion has much to prove

Low-band 5G will offer coverage, speeds, and pricing similar to today’s 4G LTE networks but with less congestion.

Comcast does offer a gigabit service, but residents are frustrated with their customer service, random pricing changes, the frequent need to re-negotiate contracts, low data caps, their stand against net neutrality, and hidden costs.

While the $70 billboard price offered by Comcast appears competitive at first, it doesn’t tell the whole story.

Comcast gigabit customers are still capped at 1 TB of data per month unless they’re willing to pay an extra $50 per month. Add in modem/router/Wi-Fi rental for $15 and you could be out $135 per month, rising to $165 per month after your contract expires.

In contrast, Connexion offers a full-featured service with simple pricing, no contracts, and no data caps: It’s either $59.95 or $69.90 per month depending on if you use your own Wi-Fi gear or the city’s.

If you’re into creating content, Connexion, unlike Comcast, offers fast upload speeds letting you live stream, upload videos, and back up your valuable data quickly.

Voters handed the city a tremendous opportunity. It’s now up to Connexion’s leadership to capitalize on that opportunity, market the advantages of their service, let people know where service is available, and sign up subscribers.

Given the successes of the November 2017 ballot issue, Longmont’s NextLight network, and Chattanooga’s EPB network, Connexion should easily take 50% of the broadband subscribers in Fort Collins and be successful, too.

Glen Akins lives in Fort Collins and has been involved the effort to bring ubiquitous gigabit fiber to Fort Collins for more than five years.