The Boulder Chamber of Commerce has come out in favor of ballot measure 2C, which would restore the City of Boulder’s authority to provide telecommunications services to its residents. From the Chamber’s website:
City of Boulder 2014 Ballot Measure 2C – Affirming the City’s Right to Provide Telecommunication Services
Colorado State Bill 152 precludes cities from offering broadband services without an exemption provided by a vote of the people. Boulder currently has over 100 miles of fiber-optic cable providing high-speed Internet capabilities to city offices, the University of Colorado and the federal labs. If 2C passes, the City would be granted the authority to expand that network to residents or businesses.
The Boulder Chamber has taken a leadership role on 2C, stating: “[P]artnership with the private sector may well represent the fastest, most seamless path to providing service to our residents and students, and to attracting and retaining the companies that drive our innovation economy. And there are partners in the community who could leverage such an opportunity.”
Local business communities are often the first to benefit from the cheaper, better, faster service when municipalities expand their networks. As the Chamber’s statement notes, Boulder already has over 100 miles of fiber installed but is blocked from leveraging those assets by SB 152, which effectively outlaws community networks unless voters pass a referendum restoring local authority. Because deep-pocketed incumbents typically spend heavily to defeat such referenda and public agencies are blocked from lobbying on their own behalf, support from local groups like Chambers of Commerce are crucial.
Boulder stands to join the ranks of Longmont, Centennial, Montrose, and other Colorado communities that have voted to restore their local authority. So far, despite the obstacles and incumbent spending, every Colorado municipality that has put the issue on the ballot has passed it – eventually.