Colorado’s first municipal internet service, NextLight, will celebrate its 10th birthday in Longmont next month with a party and plenty of deals.
In 2005, the state legislature passed Senate Bill 152, which prevented local governments such as Longmont from getting into the broadband business, according to the Colorado Broadband Office’s website. The legislation largely prohibited municipal or county money from funding infrastructure to improve local broadband service without voter approval.
Longmont voters in 2011 passed a ballot issue allowing the city’s Power and Communications Department to offer high-speed internet access as a municipal service, which paved the way for NextLight to officially break ground.
Today, NextLight provides internet service to roughly 27,550 homes and businesses in Longmont. The shelf life of fiber is estimated to be 30-plus years.
Kevin Larson of NextLight works on new lines in a development in northeast Longmont in 2022. This November, NextLight will celebrate it’s 10th birthday. (Cliff Grassmick/Staff Photographer)
“NextLight was built for the entire Longmont community,” Scott Rochat, Longmont Power and Communications public relations and marketing specialist said in an email Friday. “Since March, that service area has also included some of the neighborhoods north of Colo. 66, who also receive Longmont’s electricity.”
Since its inception, NextLight has racked up numerous accolades, including contributing to Longmont’s All-America City award in 2018 and winning the PC Magazine readers’ choice and employees’ choice awards in 2023.
NextLight was also a finalist for best municipal or public connectivity program at this year’s Broadband Nation Awards in Washington D.C.
On Nov. 1, an open-to-the-public NextLight birthday party starts at 4 p.m. at the Parkway Food Hall, 700 Ken Pratt Blvd., Suite 200. The event will include free food, door prizes, giveaways, food hall coupons and NextLight-themed mocktails.
NextLight is offering a lifetime $10 per month discount for new customers who subscribe to a gigabit connection or faster by Dec. 31, allowing residential customers to sign up for $59.95 per month. The same lifetime $10 per month discount is available for existing customers who upgrade from 100-megabit service to a gigabit connection or faster by Dec. 31.
NextLight is also offering a doubled “refer-a-friend” bonus, giving a $100 bill credit to any subscriber who gets someone to sign up for NextLight service by Dec. 31.
“As ultra-fast broadband service becomes more critical than ever to our daily lives, we’re looking forward to the next 10 years of continued focus on our network and partnership with our customers,” said Valerie Dodd, NextLight executive director.
