Longmont’s award-winning fiber-optic internet service NextLight has now crossed north of Colorado Highway 66, expanding to serve customers beyond the Longmont city limits.

NextLight announced today that it has begun to connect residents of the Anhawa and Strawberry Circle neighborhoods. The area contains about 125 homes, which currently receive Longmont utility service but have not had access to NextLight until now.

“We know these neighborhoods have been awaiting this news for a long time,” said Valerie Dodd, NextLight’s executive director. “And I’m thrilled to finally say the words that they’ve been wanting to hear: NextLight’s fiber-fast and highly reliable internet is now available to Strawberry Circle and Anhawa.”

When Longmont residents first voted in 2011 to let Longmont provide municipal internet service, the ballot issue allowed it to be built anywhere in the Longmont Power & Communications electric service area, which included some outlying neighborhoods like Anhawa and Strawberry Circle. However, the bond issue that funded the initial build from 2014-2017 could only be used for construction within Longmont city limits.

Since then, Dodd said, NextLight has continually evaluated opportunities in the outlying areas and the resources available to do so.

“As a city-owned network, we always want to make sure we’re using our community’s resources wisely in supporting and growing NextLight,” she said. “We’re confident that this is the right time to expand, and we will continue to take further steps as it makes sense for the network and the community.”

Colorado widened the potential options for growth in 2023 when it repealed the state’s restrictions on municipal broadband, allowing communities to explore all their choices and permitting municipal networks like NextLight to grow without being limited to a particular service footprint.

“We operate in a state that recognizes the importance of broadband and in a community that has given us every opportunity to flourish,” Dodd said. “We’re proud of what we and our customers have achieved together, and we look forward to even more exciting successes in the future.”