Dolores town government, schools, library and the bank will soon have a fiber-optic feed for broadband Internet service. However, local businesses and residents will have to wait for access to the improved technology.
Fiber-optic cable was installed to Dolores this summer, as part of the Southwest Colorado Access Network (SCAN). The organization funds improved Internet access for rural communities through state grants and donations, including from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Towns pay for the "last mile" of installation that connects it to buildings and the computers inside them.
Dolores agreed to chip in $8,750 toward a $34,500 contract signed with DB Technologies to run the cables on utility poles and to the buildings. The remaining $25,750 is paid for by a grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, funded by severance taxes levied on the oil and gas industry. A annual $900 fee is charged to the town for line maintenance.
"It will first serve the anchor institutions. Residents and businesses will be served later, based on demand," explained town manager Ryan Mahoney.
Installation of the cables to governmental entities and Dolores State Bank is expected to take 60 days.
Once in place, the backbone fiber-optic system sets up a private market for Internet service providers to tap the line and provide broadband services to individual homes and businesses, but whether a private provider will come in is based on demand. Local providers such as FastTrack and Cedar Networks could lease available fiber-optic capacity from SCAN, and then install the lines to individual homes and businesses.
"The more residents and businesses who want broadband, the better it looks for private providers to come in and deliver that service," Mahoney said.
Currently Dolores is served by copper wire for Internet service as part of the phone line through CenturyLink. The capacity and speed of 10 megabytes per second is adequate for most Internet users, but during peak use, such as after 5 p.m., users may experience slowdowns.
Internet access served by fiber-optic lines is an upgrade, offering up to 1,000 megabytes per second at a dedicated rate.
Increased Internet capacity opens up business and education opportunities, as well as cost savings for government activities.
Some advantages of increased Internet bandwidth are in-house staff training via video link, rather than travel time. Municipal court proceedings could also be done via video link, saving costs. Dolores schools will have better access to distance learning with the improved Internet connection.
"It is also a real advantage for placed-based businesses as well for people who want to work remotely from home in a Colorado mountain town," Mahoney said.
jmimiaga@cortezjournal.com