The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Focus on the north end; Completion expected in June 2022
By Katherine Nettles
Improving Internet redundancy and adding more competition potential might bring the North Valley up to speed on Internet accessibility within the next two years. A Region 10 grant opportunity has caught on with several local governments and might cross the funding finish line in a few short weeks.
The broadband opportunity available through Region 10 would provide an additional line of fiber optic cable between Gunnison and Crested Butte, and possibly travel all the way up to Mt. Crested Butte. Region 10 would own the additional line, and the grant to provide the line requires matching funds of $500,000.
Region 10 is coordinating the project with all local governments, and the interested parties have formed a planning committee. Gunnison Valley Hospital and the city of Gunnison helped in applying for a large portion of the project funding from the Universal Service Administration Company.
Gunnison County Electric Association has pledged $285,000 to kick-start the process; the town of Crested Butte has pledged $75,000; and the county commissioners met this month to target a $100,000 match through their own budget process. Mt. Crested Butte and Crested Butte South are considering pledges as well to cover the remainder.
Along with its partners, Region 10 will retain some capacity on the fiber network and in turn, make service available on an open-access model to commercial Internet service providers.
“I think there’s a lot of enthusiasm for the project,” said county manager Matthew Birnie. He noted that the line would provide more capacity, and more competition. “Prices could come down from CenturyLink,” he said.
“This model is used throughout the Region 10 service area to help improve broadband service for our communities,” wrote Region 10 regional broadband coordinator Virgil Turner in e-mail to the Crested Butte News.
“The project is awaiting a funding determination by our federal partner, the Universal Service Administration Company. We expect this determination to be received in May 2021. No work can start until after this and we expect completion by June 2022,” noted Turner.
