City staff updates council on fiber buildout, says MetroNet, Ting and others plan phased work

Thornton’s utilities and infrastructure director told the City Council the city is seeing multiple private fiber providers planning work inside city right-of-way and that a MetroNet agreement on the council’s consent calendar is intended to expand conduit and fiber access in targeted areas.

Brett Henry, director of utilities and infrastructure, said the city amended an earlier agreement with Ting to allow a third-party installer (identified in the briefing as Intrepid) to complete fiber installation; Ting remains the network operator. Henry said, “Long story short, in May, Thornton and Ting amended that agreement, such that, a Trepid, a third party could come in and actually do the fiber installation for Ting.”

Henry showed a map of the company’s current permitting activity, saying work permits were being pulled for an area between East 104th and East 140th near Colorado Boulevard and that Ting and partners “tentatively have agreed to try to do a lot of their work over the next 3 years throughout the city.” He urged council members to direct constituent inquiries about exact locations to utilities staff so the city can provide permit-based updates.

MetroNet and other providers Henry briefed council on several private providers that have expressed interest in building in Thornton, specifically Lumen, Google and MetroNet. He said MetroNet’s proposed work (on the consent calendar) will use a nonexclusive right-of-way agreement; the city cannot deny right-of-way use but can dictate construction, maintenance and terms. Henry noted a specific example: MetroNet is stringing fiber within city-owned conduit on East 80th Avenue between Huron and Washington and the agreement includes cost-sharing and conduit/fiber swaps to benefit both the city and the company, with a listed city benefit at Fire Station 8.

Why it matters: multiple providers and shared conduit arrangements may increase competition and consumer options, but they also require permitting oversight, coordination with public infrastructure and answers for residents about disruption and timing. Henry told council staff would provide updates when permits are filed and recommended constituents reach out to utilities staff rather than relying on informal timelines.

Council questions and follow-up Councilmembers asked about the scale of equipment and what parts of the city contain city-owned conduit and fiber. Henry described the MetroNet activity as “in the right of way” under a nonexclusive use agreement and said the company will install conduit and fiber primarily in northern parts of the city with some projects elsewhere, and that the city has negotiated swaps and cost-sharing for locations where both the city and provider have needs.

Ending: Utilities staff said they will circulate permit-based updates to council as private providers pull permits and move into construction and that council can expect more detailed permit-location reports from the utilities department.