City Council Agenda and Packet 2018 10 09 SP

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1. Executive Summary Vantage Point Solutions (VPS) was awarded a competitively bid contract to conduct a Broadband Assessment and Feasibility Study for the City of Louisville, Colorado. The main purpose of the Study was to determine what (if any) are the broadband problems facing residents, businesses and the City government in Louisville. To conduct the feasibility assessment, VPS gathered data and information by: • Engaging with City staff • Meeting with incumbent providers of Century Link and Comcast • Holding stakeholder outreach meetings with citizens • Meeting with neighboring jurisdictions • Conducting a residential and business survey • Analyzing Information provided by the City and • Researching information obtained through publicly available sources When discussing broadband, it is important to understand the definition. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) currently defines broadband as speeds that reach a minimum of 25mbps downstream and 3mbps upstream (25/3). Other FCC programs for high cost rural areas through the Connect America Fund, only require minimum speed of 10mbps downstream and lmbps upstream (10/1). Practically speaking, even the current FCC definition of broadband is far behind what most customers perceive to be adequate for residential use. However, for purposes of this report — high-speed broadband is internet speeds that meet or exceed the federal definition of broadband. This report provides a comprehensive analysis on the findings of the feasibility study including presenting three Fiber -to - the -Premise (FTTP) network models, two middle -mile network models and other broadband best practice options for the City to consider. There are multiple key findings to highlight: • Unlike many Colorado communities in rural areas, the City of Louisville is currently served by multiple providers with 100% penetration. This means that every resident in Louisville has the ability to access high-speed broadband. Not every resident may be purchasing high-speed broadband, but the services are available to those who choose to purchase them. The result of the surveys and the stakeholder outreach confirms this conclusion. • Louisville homes and businesses have multiple choices for internet or bundled service providers that offer a variety of pricing options. However, there is only one provider (Comcast), that offers gigabit service. • According to the business survey results, the business community is relatively satisfied with their current broadband service. However, when asked, many respondents could not say what speeds they were currently getting or what it cost them for service. • According to the residential survey results, cellular telephone service is relatively good in Louisville. However, there are some areas such as Fireside, South Louisville and Coal Creek where cell service is less reliable. Unfortunately, improving service in these gap areas is solely dependent on the cellular carriers making a decision to take action. While it is a good idea for the City to reach out to the cellular carriers to bring the gaps to the attention of the carriers and to proactively facilitate discussions, it is up to the carriers to resolve the problem. 4