BOULDER, Colo. -- Another Colorado community is exploring its own municipal broadband service.
Boulder city officials are examining a plan to create a system for approximately 50,000 residential and business customers.
Should such a move be approved, it could create more competition among the private providers, some say. Similar government-run setups are moving forward in Longmont and Fort Collins.
"We're interested in exploring some sort of option that allows an open, non-discriminatory system or service that also doesn't provide data caps," said Boulder assistant city manager Chris Meschuk.
The price tag to build the system could cost anywhere from $70-140 million dollars. Proposals and plans are currently under review.
“It depends what the taxes are, but I'm sure they'd be reasonable for what you get," said Boulder Book Store owner David Bolduc.
The Boulder plan comes as the feds consider killing what's known as net neutrality. Doing so would allow companies to promote their own apps and services.
Several Boulder residents like the idea of a locally-controlled provider.
"Coming in and asserting dominance when they don't even reside here or have reality to experience what we are — why should they assert what we do in our own individual choice?” said resident Danielle Anthony Greco.
The city council will meet in early 2018 to discuss the project further.
