Voters OK more use of fiber-optic loop

LONGMONT – City of Longmont officials can “explore all of the possibilities” to use more of a fiber-optic network installed in 1997, a spokeswoman said, after voters approved a ballot measure Tuesday.

The telecommunications measure – 2A – passed by a large margin, with 60.8 percent of voters in favor of it and 39.2 percent of voters against it, according to unofficial results posted on the Boulder Clerk and Recorder’s website. The measure says that Longmont can use more of its existing, 17-mile, fiber-optic network.

“Now we’re open for business, and we’re able to reach out to local companies and incumbent providers and Google to see how they can work with us, and we can work with them,´ said Deb Cameron, a spokeswoman for Longmont Power and Communications.

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Web portal company Google Inc. in 2010 considered Longmont to be a demonstration city for a consumer fiber network project before ultimately choosing Kansas City, Kansas, Cameron said.

“Google had carefully evaluated us when they were looking for a demonstration city,” Cameron said. “We don’t know how these restrictions played into their decision.”

Voters this year were asked to approve a ballot question because Colorado legislation passed in 2005 prohibits cities from offering telecommunication services without sending such issues to the ballot.

In 2009, Longmont voters turned down a similar ballot request. That year, cable industry groups lobbied heavily against the measure, saying that it could put residents at financial risk.