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OPERATION:  LINK UP

Bridging the Last 16 Miles of the Fiber Divide In Colorado

Instead of securing right-of-way and bringing the fiber optic line the last 16 miles to Silverton, Qwest upgraded the bandwidth of an existing  microwave radio link—infrastructure from the 60s!   The bottom line — theirs—they saved a considerable amount of money on the MNT Project contract at the expense of Colorado taxpayers and Silverton’s economic future. 

The Last County

 

One of the main objectives of the 37 million dollar 2000 MNT Project was to install fiber optic infrastructure to reach every Colorado county and county seat.  This initiative was especially important for small and sparsely populated counties such as San Juan and Silverton the county seat.  The state believed these highways of light and data would greatly benefit the economic health of every Colorado county. 

In return for reaching “profit challenged” areas of the state with fiber, Qwest obtained lucrative urban routes as part of the MNT contract. 

 

 

 

 

Nine years after the launch of this state-wide initiative, San Juan County and Silverton remain the only MNT project site not completed.   All telecommunications; phone, cell phone and internet still reach Silverton through a single microwave link from Durango built in the sixties.

There’s a 16 mile gap of fiber that Qwest never installed, a significant portion of the 37 million 2000 MNT Contract paid for by Colorado taxpayers.  For the people of Silverton, the matter is quite simple: the 2000 MNT Project is still one county short of being finished.  We implore our Colorado elected officials to have Qwest complete the MNT Project and reach Silverton with fiber infrastructure. 

Through Operation Linkup we’ve come together as a community, both in Silverton and extended, to demand Qwest deliver the fiber infrastructure they were contracted to provide.  Our efforts are also focused on developing alternative strategies for obtaining the telecommunications infrastructure essential to the economic health and survival of our community.

Thanks for your help and support!

 

Operation Linkup — Silverton, Colorado

 

… the matter is quite simple: the 2000 MNT Project is still one county short of being finished.