The EAGLE-Net Alliance is still looking for a...
The EAGLE-Net Alliance is still looking for a third-party network operator, Executive Vice President-Business Development Chip White told us Thursday night by email. The Colorado intergovernmental entity received a broadband stimulus grant of $100.6 million to connect Colorado schools with…
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broadband, but the project has faced a federal partial suspension, lifted earlier this year, and accusations of overbuilding and mismanagement. EAGLE-Net had requested bids from network operators to run the network and requested at least $8 million in investment from any bidder. It predicted in May it would select an operator by the week of July 22. EAGLE-Net “will continue to have no comment” on the process while selecting the operator, White said Thursday. Federal and state lawmakers have pressed EAGLE-Net with questions, as some Colorado stakeholders worry the bidding process left out smaller telcos due to the required investment commitment (CD July 18 p6). Many of the same critics of EAGLE-Net from last year continued to repeat their claims of EAGLE-Net overbuilding private telco networks this week, according to emails shown to us. Blanca Telephone Manager Alan Wehe described EAGLE-Net “paralleling our fiber again.” His Thursday email showed photos of the parallel fiber and discussed the builds in Alamosa, a community of just under 9,000 residents in south-central Colorado. These emails have been circulated and sent to several stakeholders, including staff of Colorado legislators and other state telco executives. EAGLE-Net has disputed the way these critics have defined overbuilding and defended its actions throughout the last year. It has emphasized the statewide nature of its network and the advanced capabilities it will bring.