Private fiber system poses interesting challenges

The proposal to build a private, intergovernmental fiber-optic network here in Boulder raises interesting private vs. public issues as the Boulder Valley makes a play to further its emerging profile in the national telecommunications arena.

The proposal, called BRAN for Boulder Research and Administrative Network, is very similar to a fiber-sharing agreement approved a few years ago and built in 96-’97 in Seattle.

So I called Matt Lampe, acting director of enterprise information technology for the city of Seattle, to see how that project had gone. Their partnership, which now interestingly…