After issuing bonds in January for broadband development that totalled $97 million, the Loveland, Colorado city council approved the detailed plans for its own fiber network, named Pulse, last Tuesday night, according to the Reporter Herald. Three measures were put forth and unanimously approved.
One provision involves an agreement with the city of Fort Collins designed to save money for both locations, by connecting Loveland’s new network to the larger internet offered by Fort Collins.
Ditesco, a project management company, was contracted to oversee the project. Nokia agreed to furnish the equipment needed for the upgrade.
Ditesco will receive $3.4 million for the two to three-year installation, said municipal fiber manager for Loveland, Brieana Reed-Harmel. Nokia was originally slated to take on a larger part of the fiber installation work, but Reed-Harmel explained that as a local company, Ditesco would be taking the lead. The intricacies of navigating both the fiber underground and local bureaucratic channels was best left to the Pulse home team, she said.
For its part, Nokia is expected to pocket $6 million. The figure is based on costs that are deemed predictable, according to the Reporter Herald, such as the number of subscribers, residences, and businesses expected to use the service. “There are a lot of unknown costs,” said Reed-Harmel, “This is guaranteeing our price, and we’re actually getting a very good price on these.”
Lastly, the deal with Fort Collins will allow Loveland to piggyback into an existing fiber network infrastructure. In connecting with other cities’ telecommunications hubs, the Colorado cities will share the $100,000 to $130,000 connection fees. In addition to reduced costs, the arrangement allows for shared resources. “It’s a way we can get more bang for our buck,” Reed-Harmel said.