More than 230 people want La Plata Electric Association to take the lead on creating high-quality, affordable broadband internet for its members.
Gaps in broadband access have become apparent during the coronavirus pandemic, when teachers have had to conduct lessons online and in-person meetings have shifted to video-conferencing platforms. One community petition is calling on LPEA, which primarily serves La Plata and Archuleta counties, to step in.
“When I was on the LPEA board and when I was heading up the broadband committee, the more I found out about it, the more it became apparent to me that there was really nothing going to happen in our service area given the existing providers,” said Guinn Unger, who created the petition. “I said, ‘Well, maybe it would be good to see what the community thinks about LPEA getting involved.’”
In the petition, Unger says high-quality broadband access is as vital as electricity, but that local residents are “very poorly served by broadband providers” who don’t have an incentive to improve service.
Unger said it was similar to the 1930s and ’40s, when large companies had no incentive to provide electricity to rural areas, leading to the creation of electricity co-ops.
According to the Colorado public broadband map, only a few areas of Durango and Bayfield saw internet speeds greater than 1 gigabit per second through their DSL, cable or fiber service, as of June 30.
The most common speed is 25 to 100 megabits per second, but many areas showed slower speeds. Florida Mesa south and southwest of Durango, and Vallecito and the Florida River basin northeast of Durango saw speeds of less than 10 Mbps.
According to the state, 25 Mbps equals high-speed internet.
The petition points to another electric co-op, the Delta-Montrose Electric Association, which has already taken on the same issue. In 2016, it launched a broadband service called Elevate Fiber. The local fiber internet company offers download speeds of 150 megabits per second for $55 a month.
“DMEA Elevate has sort of established a road map of how they’re going about it,” Unger said. “We (LPEA board members) have talked to them ... and they’ve been completely forthcoming with their information with what’s working, what’s not working.”
Unger sees LPEA as a well-positioned entity to take on the issue because, as a not-for-profit, member-owned co-op, its mission is to serve its members. It doesn’t have the profit-first mentality of larger companies, he said.
The petition calls on LPEA to take a strong leadership position in getting broadband for its service area.
“I’m not trying to tell LPEA how they should go about it,” Unger said. “But I don’t want them to just say, ‘Well, we’ll help out wherever we can.’”
The petition had acquired 239 signatures as of Monday after launching in mid-January. It encourages only a signature from LPEA members. Before it is presented to the LPEA board, signatures with non-local ZIP codes will be weeded out, Unger said.
Supporters have said better broadband will help with their businesses, employees working remotely and schools with educational needs. Some said it was an economic development and equity issue. The petition’s comments section shows support from Durango, Bayfield, Forest Lakes, Vallecito and Archuleta County.
“We are just 1 mile outside Durango city limits, yet we might as well be in the middle of nowhere,” said Tim Peterson in his comment on the petition. “We have no access to speeds of any consequence, and it makes working online difficult. Please take action to provide better broadband to your members. Thank you!”
Hillary Knox, LPEA spokeswoman, said the co-op is aware of the petition and invited members to submit any questions or comments to the Broadband Committee at BroadbandCommitteeComments@lpea.coop.
“LPEA’s Broadband Committee has been examining this for more than a year,” Knox said in an email to The Durango Herald. “They are currently reviewing proposals for feasibility studies that will help us determine what role LPEA should play in this moving forward.”
smullane@durangoherald.com
