Broadband in the City of Golden
Update 6/30/2024
Google Fiber will be providing fast access to Golden starting in early to mid 2025. You can check out the progress Google is making by visiting the link below:
https://fiber.google.com/cities/golden/
Update 5/24/2023
Broadband Partners for Residential and Business Service - Golden is actively engaged with Broadband companies seeking to enter the Golden market. We anticipate that agreements will be in place this year for new companies to start building in Golden.
Internal Fiber - The projects with MCI/WYCO/Jeffco Schools are drawing to a close. The next steps for internal City connectivity will be to build a path from north Ford street to our shops location and also connect all of this new fiber to city hall through conduit that was laid earlier this year.
Update 8/10/2022
New Items:
Golden is exploring options with MCI and WYCO to continue the northward build of the master fiber ring along Ford. This partnership would allow the City to complete the northeast section of the build.
Ongoing Items:
Jeffco Schools Cooperative Build - This effort is back on track now that the Coors construction is complete along Ford. Completion anticipated this year following the long delay.
Broadband Partner - Earlier this year Golden published a RFI looking for potential broadband partners. Several potential partners were identified as a result of the effort. After meeting with Council specific direction and goals were set and now discussions are ongoing with the responding companies to find the right partner for Golden. Updates to come as these discussions develop.
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Update 3/3/2021
Golden is currently working with Jeffco county schools to build out the purple section of the Golden master fiber ring on this map.
This will provide a fiber path from the north side of town to the south. This is under construction now and is projected to be complete in the first half of 2021.
We are currently soliciting costs on building the lateral from City hall to Ford and 10th that will connect the existing fiber line running along 10th to the “Purple Line”. Also we are pricing a lateral at the south end of the “Purple Line” to connect to the golf/splash complex. This will bring immediate value to the city as a result of the work and investment the City is making. At the top end of the purple line we are exploring costs for a lateral to connect our shops facilities.
The next significant future item will be identifying a method or partner to build the green section on this image. That is the more difficult piece considering that portions might require CDOT RoW access.
In summation, the city has a clear and active path forward for construction of the purple line and the resulting connectivity to the city network and golf/splash facilities. The future is less clear for the green segment as we don’t have an identified partner and will have to budget for this build in the 23/24 budget to go it alone.
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Broadband Internet has become one of the most essential tools to support economic and social vitality in our communities. Since the early 2000s, this evolution has created a need for faster and more reliable broadband. Fiber-optic broadband, otherwise known as “fiber to the home,” or “FTTH” is the gold standard for broadband Internet today, providing the fastest and most reliable Internet in the US. Communities in which residents and businesses have affordable access to fiber exhibit positive economic and social impacts, with higher property values and increased business activity. In some of these communities, the local municipality has taken an active role in expanding access to fiber-based broadband.
City of Golden is exploring a number of strategies to ensure our citizens, businesses and community anchors have access to the Internet services they need at prices they can afford. Golden voters supported an important referendum in 2016 to overturn Colorado Senate Bill 05-152, the bill that prohibits local government from supporting either directly or indirectly the provision of Internet services to its community.
This override authorizes the City to investigate alternatives for enhancing Internet services in Golden. It doesn’t mean that the City will provide your Internet services, rather, it means that the City will evaluate a number of different strategies to ensure our community has the services it needs to thrive in the digital economy. Our evaluation will be based on the City’s 9 broadband objectives:
- Inclusivity - To provide the opportunity for high speed broadband service to all residents, businesses, schools, local government, non-profit organizations, healthcare service providers, and multi-tenant properties in our service area.
- High Speed – Requires up to 1 Gigabit symmetrical broadband connection for residential and up to 10 Gigabit symmetrical broadband connection for non-residential, with higher speeds for both service types available in the next five to seven years.
- Reliability – The service needs to be able to be depended upon as it will have many uses requiring high availability. Some examples are businesses – both storefront and home, residents, students, and healthcare professionals.
- Reasonable cost – The monthly charges for such service should be reasonable and affordable.
- Future Proofed – The proposed solutions should be viable for the next 10 years with a preference for solutions that can be utilized for longer time frames as a result of periodic upgrades.
- Economic Growth - Encourage economic development, business retention, new business start-ups, and entrepreneurs to locate and remain in Golden.
- Investment - Encourage the private sector to invest in new communications networks in Golden and to offer enhanced services for business development and job creation.
- Competition - Facilitate private sector competition and consumer choice by considering the availability of City assets, possibly in partnership with the private sector.
- Quality of Life - Enhance the quality of life in the community by facilitating Internet access in and around public places.