LONGMONT, CO –  The City of Longmont has joined Next Century Cities, a nationwide city-to-city  initiative dedicated to ensuring that next-generation broadband – such as Longmont’s high-speed NextLight™ network –  is available to all communities.

To date, more than 100 cities and their elected leaders have joined Next Century Cities in recognition of the importance of leveraging gigabit-level Internet to attract new businesses, create jobs, improve health care and education, and connect residents to new opportunities. 

“Next Century Cities welcomes Longmont, Colo., the latest community to join us in support of high-speed Internet,” said Deb Socia, executive director of Next Century Cities. “We encourage all cities who are interested in recognizing the benefits of these investments to business, schools, government and more to join this initiative.”

“When other cities have the same interests and the same challenges, it just makes sense to learn from them,” Longmont Mayor Dennis Coombs said. “There’s no sense in reinventing the wheel. We know that cutting-edge broadband is vital to Longmont, and by working with Next Century Cities, we can share our NextLight experience while also learning from our partners. It makes all of us better.”

Other member cities in Colorado include Arvada, Boulder, Centennial, Cortez, Culver City, Fort Collins, Grand Junction, and Montrose.

Longmont Power & Communications, the city’s community-owned electric utility, regained its right to build a citywide broadband network in 2011, when Longmont voters overwhelmingly set aside state restrictions on municipal telecommunications. LPC began to build and operate NextLight in 2014.  In May 2015, the network was rated the fastest ISP in the U.S. by the internationally-regarded website Ookla Speedtest.

“Like electricity, the Internet has become a crucial utility for American families and businesses,” Coombs said. “Longmont’s residents want and need reliable high-speed Internet. And through NextLight, they’re getting access to the fastest and most dependable network around.”

NextLight’s offerings include speeds of up to a gigabit for home and business, including a $49.95 “Charter Member” residential gigabit service for homes that sign up within the first three months of the network’s availability. 

About Next Century Cities
Next Century Cities is a city-to-city initiative founded to support communities and their elected leaders, including mayors and other officials, as they seek to ensure that all have access to fast, affordable, and reliable Internet. As innovative municipalities across the country recognize the importance of leveraging gigabit level Internet to attract new businesses and create jobs, improve health care and education, and connect residents to new opportunities, Next Century Cities will celebrate these successes, demonstrate their value, and help other cities to realize the full power of truly high-speed, affordable, and accessible broadband. For more information, visit www.nextcenturycities.org.

About Longmont Power & Communications
Longmont Power & Communications is a community-owned, non-profit electric and broadband services utility that operates under the direction of Longmont City Council. Established in 1912, our goal is to deliver outstanding  electric and broadband service experiences to our customer-owners, while providing exceptional value and benefit to our community. Our  phased rollout of the  citywide NextLight fiber-optic network is expected to be complete in 2016, making Longmont the first “gigabit city” in Colorado.  To learn more, visit www.LongmontColorado.gov/lpc. 

About the City of Longmont
Longmont, Colorado, located within Boulder County, is a 22-square-mile city with more than 300 days of sunshine and a spectacular vista of the Rocky Mountains. With a population of 90,000, Longmont sits at an elevation of 4,979 feet above sea level. With more than 1,500 acres of parks and open space, a robust craft beer scene, thriving art culture, fresh dining opportunities, and a Main Street teaming with new energy, Longmont is perfect for everyone from young families to those young at heart.  Longmont is also home to several high-tech companies and a nationally recognized school district.  Longmont is conveniently located 37 miles from Denver, 16 miles from Boulder and 30 miles from Rocky Mountain National Park.

Contact: Scott Rochat
Longmont Power & Communications
303-651-8793 (office)/ 720-600-8295 (cell)
scott.rochat@ci.longmont.co.us