ALLO Fiber Agrees to Net Neutrality in Network Lease Deal with Boulder, Colo

WASHINGTON, Nov. 26, 2024 – The Boulder City Council in Colorado voted unanimously (9-0) Thursday to lease part of the city's fiber backbone under a 20-year agreement with ALLO Fiber, a private partner committed to net neutrality and equitable service.

The deal, which includes protections against throttling, data caps, and the sale of customer data, will expand high-speed, affordable internet access across the city, connecting 80% of the city by 2028 and 97% of the city by 2030.

The $9 million deal allows ALLO – a Nebraska-based telecom company available to 1.2 million customers throughout Colorado, Nebraska, Arizona and Missouri – to lease a significant portion of Boulder’s $20 million fiber backbone, completed earlier this year. 

ALLO will pay the city $1.5 million upfront, a monthly fee of $2.25 per residential and $9 per business customer, and 1.5% of wholesale revenue. The agreement also includes:

• Equity Initiatives: Discounts of $30 per month for qualifying low-income households and free Gigabit internet for 25 nonprofits starting in 2028.
• Net Neutrality Commitments: No data caps or throttling, and privacy standards exceeding Colorado’s legal requirements.
• Student Benefits: Free upgrades for college students from 500 Megabits per second (Mbps) to 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps).

“The city will be leasing half of the 432 fiber strands in conduit one to ALLO, and will be retaining the other half for governmental purposes, such as traffic signals and public safety,” said Mike Giansanti, Boulder’s Deputy Chief of Innovation and Technology. “In conduit two, ALLO, at their cost, will be installing five microducts, each containing 288 strands of dark fiber.”

“ALLO will keep four of those under their own ownership, and the city will take ownership of one of those five. So effectively, the city is increasing our dark fiber capacity at no additional cost,” Giansanti said.

Boulder, located about 40 miles northwest of Denver, has a population of just over 105,000. According to BroadbandNow, Comcast and T-Mobile are among Boulder's existing ISPs.

The council first committed to community broadband in 2018 but faced funding challenges for a municipally owned utility. Instead, the city opted to own the fiber backbone while partnering with a private provider. After evaluating proposals, the city selected ALLO for its ability to meet key objectives, including equitable access, competitive pricing, and data privacy.

While council members praised the deal, some, like Lauren Folkerts, expressed lingering wishes for full municipal ownership. “We can own our own fiber like [the city of] Longmont [Colorado] does. We can make money for our customers instead of ALLO making money through us. That's community benefit,” Folkerts said.

Others focused on ensuring the agreement’s long-term viability. Councilmember Mark Wallach urged staff to refine contract provisions to guarantee that any future assignee of ALLO’s lease meets the same financial and operational standards.

Construction and service rollout are expected to begin in 2025. Councilmember Matt Benjamin highlighted the collaborative nature of the partnership, saying, “The community said, ‘We want this,’ and we made it work.” Benjamin added, “This is a long time coming.”