As net neutrality repeal looms, Boulder takes closer look at city-owned broadband

It's going to cost somewhere between $70 and $140 million, officials estimate, to build out the underground fiber-to-the-premises network that Boulder (CO) needs to make community-wide broadband a reality. The question for the City Council has never been whether this pursuit is worthwhile, as voters and elected leaders clearly agree on the value of open-access, affordable, high-speed internet — the introduction of which would put pressure on the incumbent Comcast-CenturyLink duopoly to lower their prices and offer higher speeds. Rather, the question is: Who is going to pay for this build-out? And, for much of the past year, based on advice of a consultant Boulder has paid $186,000 to date, the most likely answer seemed to be that the city would partner with an outside provider willing to pay for the build-out. But now, Boulder is taking its closest look to date at another path, in which the city finances the build and owns the network.