The city of Fort Collins, Colo. is installing its own municipal internet access network. Connexion plans to sell gigabit service for $70 a month, 50 megabit service for $50 a month and phone service for $25. An "affordable" tier is still to be determined but has been deemed a priority by the City Council.
The entire network is slated to be finished by May of 2022, but the first neighborhoods are expected to be able to buy service in August 2019.
Comcast, the incumbent cable operator, and CenturyLink, the incumbent telco, already have adjusted their plans to meet the new competitive threat. In 2016, the incumbent rate cards showed a price advantage for Connexion. That might not be so true in 2019.
So Connexion might itself have to consider lower prices than originally forecast, as some of the Comcast packages already feature more bandwidth than 50 Mbps for about $50 a month.
Now, CenturyLink sells its 40 Mbps service for about $45, without other promotions. Comcast sells its stand-alone 250 Mbps package for about $60 a month, and less if bought with a bundle of video or voice.
The city issued $143 million in bonds to pay for buildout, and the business plan calls for sustainability at about 28 percent take rates.
More than half of eligible households in Longmont signed up for its municipal broadband service within five years of its initial availability, so Fort Collins officials likely are optimistic they will reach the threshold of sustainability.
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