- Affordable, quality, widely- available access to advanced telecommunications services and broadband service is critical to the present and future viability of Colorado communities, businesses, and residents.
- The proper role for local government is to advocate for their citizens’ best economic interest and service needs in partnership with the private sector when appropriate and/or available.
- Competition in the free market is generally recognized as beneficial for consumers, but there are markets that – due to factors of distance, density, and terrain – may not lend themselves to the development of competition. In those areas, it is a proper role for local interests to work together to generate creative solutions to broadband access needs and encourage future competitive alternatives. State regulations should not limit or prohibit bandwidth below contemporary standards or impede rural deployment.
- Policies that create options for local solutions to advanced service and broadband technology needs should be supported, as long as those policies provide for local determination and encourage private sector involvement. This may include legislative action for the creation of rural information technology authorities, complete with bonding capacity.
- Establish a funding mechanism to provide hard-to-find capital investment in the advanced infrastructure that broadband access often requires in rural areas. CLUB 20 supports local governments having the ability to accept and distribute federal and state grants to advance the deployment of broadband within their communities.
- Any community approach to providing incentives to the private sector for infrastructure development should ensure that access is available to all sectors of the community – government, schools, libraries, hospitals/medical clinics, non-profits, public safety organizations, main street businesses and residents, alike.
- The State should explore potential funding options and roles for encouraging the provision of seamless, statewide coverage of wireless services to ensure public safety and homeland security.
- If necessary, the State should explore the use of incentives as an inducement to provide advanced services, including broadband service, and upgraded infrastructure for all areas of Colorado, not just the densely populated metropolitan areas.
- Local state and federal governments should be encouraged to have rights-of-way access policies which balance the need to preserve local government authority to manage public rights of way and do not infringe upon local police powers (protecting the health, safety, and welfare of citizens) with the desire to promote infrastructure deployment which can ensure advanced telecommunications services are available.
- Competitive fairness is important to continue the long-standing goal to provide for equal opportunity for any and all would-be local exchange carriers to be able to effectively compete in the marketplace. Therefore, any legislative, regulatory or incentive-based policies should provide an open and equitable process for all private sector interests to participate.
Adopted 9/9/2005
Renew 9/7/ 2012
Amended 3/27/2015
Amended 9/21/2019
(Formerly: 05-9 TE 1)