Fort Collins Connexion

Hi there! Thanks for your interest in Fort Collins Connexion service. As soon as service is available at your property, we will be notifying you directly with a sales door hanger as well as an email and direct mail piece.

Once you are notified service is available at your home, you can either give us a call or visit us on www.fcconnexion.com to sign up for service and schedule an install.  

We look forward to serving you in the near future.

Thank you for your interest in Fort Collins Connexion.  The planned build-out for broadband service is to Fort Collins city limits. Once the build-out has been completed (2-3 years), we will be looking at how we may be able to partner with neighboring towns and cities to bring additional broadband coverage to underserved areas. 

Thank you for your interest in Fort Collins Connexion service.  The initial 2-3 year build-out will be just to city limits. Once completed, the Connexion team will be looking at ways to potentially service residents located outside city limits.  

Thank you so much for your interest in Fort Collins Connexion service. We're sorry to hear that you are frustrated with our not providing a rollout plan or schedule.  There are reasons for this.  One, we have a 90-day rolling design plan for construction. This means that rather than designing the entire city build-out, we are working in various areas across the city--it allows our engineers and construction staff to be faster and more efficient. It also ensures no one specific area of the City is getting more attention than the other.  Second, due to the highly competitive marketplace, we are not providing a rollout map for Connexion. We will be directly notifying homeowners as soon as service is available to sign up and our goal is to continue to turn up neighborhoods as quickly and efficiently as possible.  There is also a form on our website https://www.fcconnexion.com/esidential that you can sign up to be notified for service availability.  

Actually, Loveland is providing its own broadband service!  It's called Pulse and will be coming soon!  You can learn more here: https://www.letstalkloveland.org/Pulse

We will be notifying you directly as soon as Connexion service is available in your neighborhood. We will place a sales door hanger (unless you have a no soliciting sign) as well as an email.  When you are notified, you can either call our customer service team at 970-212-2900 or visit us online at https://www.fcconnexion.com to review pricing and place an order.  Thank you very much for your interest in Fort Collins Connexion. We look forward to serving you in the future!

 Thank you so much for your interest in Fort Collins Connexion service. Due to the highly competitive marketplace we are in, we are not providing a rollout map for Connexion. We will be directly notifying homeowners as soon as service is available to sign up. There is also a form on our website https://www.fcconnexion.com/residential that you can sign up to be notified for service availability. 

Good afternoon.  Fort Collins Utilities requires a social security # or another valid form of Identification when setting up a new account.  If you prefer to not provide your SS# when signing up for Connexion service, we recommend you call our Customer Care team to confirm what forms of ID are accepted. Thank you for your question!

 Thank you so much for your interest in Fort Collins Connexion service.  Due to the highly competitive marketplace we are in, we are not providing a rollout map for Connexion. We will be directly notifying homeowners as soon as service is available to sign up. There is also a form on our website https://www.fcconnexion.com/residential that you can sign up to be notified for service availability.  

Thanks so much for your interest in Connexion. We reached out to one of our tech support reps to help answer your question.  Here's what he had to say:

"There are 4 RJ45’s (network) and 2 RJ11’s (phone) on our ONT.

In the most basic sense, the 4 RJ45’s are there because that’s what the device comes with.  As to what all we CAN do with it, by default, it’s just a switch.  You can plug 4 ethernet cables in, just like any other router/modem combo.  They are 1GbE.  Port aggregation wouldn’t increase core functionality here as we’re offering a 1Gb connection; so combining two 1Gb ports to increase throughput on a 1Gb connection would still net you 1Gb.  Also, and more directly, that is not a feature supported on our ONT.

The 10Gb service does in fact use a different ONT.  That unit has the same 2 RJ11 and 4 1GbE RJ45’s, but it also has an additional 10GbE RJ45.

If we want to get SUPER technical… what I called an RJ11 is technically capable of taking up to an RJ12 connector which is a 6 pin standard.  BUT… we are only using 2 and 4 pin on the 1Gb and 10Gb ONT’s respectively, so there’s no particular reason to use an RJ12 connector unless that’s just what you happen to have handy."

Hope this answers your questions! 

Thanks for the support! As we mentioned at the Launch Party last night, due to the highly competitive marketplace we are in, we are not providing a rollout map for Connexion. We will be directly notifying homeowners as soon as service is available to sign up.  

Hopefully your neighborhood will be ready to go soon!  We be notifying residents as soon as service is available to sign up for.  You will receive a door hanger as well as an email.  

Yes!  We will port your existing phone number free of charge!

We are launching Connexion service this week to neighborhoods that have had construction fully completed.  We will be notifying residents directly via door hangers, emails and social media that they can sign up.  

After launch, our new website will have a feature coming soon to allow customers to go in and see if service is available at their address.  You can also call and speak with one of our Customer Service Representatives at 970-212-2900. 

Our initial build into neighborhoods will involve installing cable in the public right of way. This easement is the city-owned strip of land from the edge of the street back about 3 to 10 feet. Its purpose is to allow the city to build and maintain the street, curb and gutter, storm sewers and possibly underground utilities.This land is the responsibility of the landowner but the city has the right to determine what takes place there. A right-of-way may include curbs, sidewalks, and utilities.  Cable installation may include a small vault or "flowerpot" where fiber is terminated.  These are all buried so they are flush with the ground (i.e. no above-ground equipment"). Cable is buried at least 12 feet below ground.  

In the case where sprinkler lines are in the right of way and are accidentally cut, our vendor partner, AEG, will cover the repair free of charge. If grass is disturbed, crews will also lay new sod if necessary. 

Fort Collins Connexion will be running fiber directly to the home and into the home.  There are four total RJ-45 ports on the ONT - 2 for internet and 2 for POTS (Plain old telephone). We are required to provide UPS option for phone service, but it is available for the ONT in case of a power outage. If you have the battery backup for ONT you will still have internet connection. 

Fort Collins Connexion will not be charging an activation fee.  You should be able to continue to use your VPN without any issues.

Fort Collins Connexion will not have data caps or overage fees. 

Connexion 10GB Internet will be available with monthly billing.  

Thank you for your feedback. We will be announcing our pricing closer to our launch date at the end of the month, which kicks off with our Launch party on Thursday, August 29th.  We will be notifying residents directly as soon as service is available to order in their respective neighborhood.  

Connexion Broadband will bring fiber to the home and inside the home. Crews will be installing a network interface device (NID; also known by several other names) to the outside of the property. This device (a panel or box) serves as the demarcation point between our fiber network and the customer's premises wiring. The fiber will be brought into the home and connect to the Optical Network Termination (ONT)  - this is your modem/wireless router.  The ONT is included when you sign up for Connexion Internet.  If you have your own wireless device, you can connect it directly to the ONT. If you have CAT5e or CAT6 Ethernet wiring in the home, Connexion service will work with that.

Hi Brent,

You're right, we've been a bit behind on updating our news section.  As you can imagine, we have been extremely busy building the City's new fiber-optic network which launches in August.  Additionally, we're designing a new Connexion site, so there will be a lot of changes coming soon. Thanks for your patience. 

Thank you for your interest in Fort Collins Connexion.  We will be publishing pricing closer to our go live in August.   

Unfortunately at this time I do not have specific information on when service will be available at your new apartment.  As mentioned, we're going live in August with a controlled ramp up for neighborhoods that have had construction completed, and our full build-out to city limits will take 36-48 months.  We sincerely look forward to serving you in the future.

Thank you for your question.  This type of situation is always a bit complicated.  If a property on the street is considered "within city limits" it will be included in the initial rollout for Connexion service.  If it is not, once full build-out has been completed (36-48 months) the team will be looking at how to  provide service to those remaining properties.

Crews are working in various locations across the city as part of our rolling construction build.  You will receive a door hanger notifying you that crews will begin work in your area.  We will begin turning on completed neighborhoods beginning in August. Full build out will be completed in 36 to 48 months.  

Good morning Michael,

we will not be offering a free trial period for Connexion service. However for residents and small businesses we will offer month to month service so you can try us out without being locked into a contract.  

Yes! Each internet account will come with one email address.  Customers will have to option to purchase additional email addresses if needed. 

Fort Collins Connexion will provide an optical network termination (ONT) device with your service that will be your router/modem and has wireless capabilities.  However, you also have the option to use your own devices to connect to the ONT.  We are not publishing a list of recommended equipment at this time however, you could certainly speak to a rep at a BestBuy or electronics store and they would be able to help you find a compatible device.  

Fiber installation will be based on whether the streets within the Skyline Community are private or not.  We will be installing to the entrance for sure. If the streets are private, we will have to get permission from Sun Communities to install in the community itself. If not, we will as a courtesy let the owners know that we will be installing and work with them to ensure it is a smooth process. We will be installing an entirely separate fiber network, so we will not need to work with any existing infrastructure.    

According to a Larimer County property search, your address is outside the city limits.  So unfortunately for the initial build-out, it will not be included.

We will not be publically releasing a formal plan or rollout map. This would provide the local incumbents with too much information. We will, however, be actively notifying businesses and residents as soon as services are available to order. 

While our official go-live date is August, we will still be actively involved in construction across the city and continuing to build out to city limits to meet out 36-48 month completion timeline.  We will not be publically releasing a formal plan--that provides the local incumbents with too much information. We will, however, be actively notifying businesses and residents as soon as services are available to order. Our Product catalog including pricing will be released closer to our August go-live.

Our fiber optic cables will terminate directly into the TAP or NID (Network Interface Device).  Upon installation, fiber will be brought into the home and connected to the Optical Network Device. There should be no need for a coax converter. We can connect with any Cat5 or CAT6 wiring in your home, and the ONT is wireless enabled.  

Dr. Meyer,

Thank you for your feedback.  Fort Collins Connexion will truly future proof our city and the opportunity for Smart City adoption (IT automation, machine learning and the internet of things) is unlimited.  A very exciting time for the City of Fort Collins.

No data caps!  That's right! No data caps!  In addition, Fort Collins Connexion is a big proponent of Net Neutrality and we will not conduct any activity that would intentionally block, slow down or impact your internet usage.  You can read more about our stance here. 

You may be able to connect the device using a CAT5 cable, but there is some uncertainty around accessibility given it is a Comcast device and we're not clear if there is anything locked down once your service has been canceled.

First service will be available August 2019. 

Thank you for your interest in Fort Collins Connexion.  The Connexion team is still finalizing the product catalog and will make that available to the public closer to launch time. This will include service levels, pricing, and packages.  All internet speeds will be symmetrical and we will not require a contract for service. 

Thank you for your question. The City recognizes and appreciates your right to choose a service provider. The Fort Collins Connexion team is currently finalizing the product catalog and pricing for services. In addition to world-class customer service, Fort Collins Connexion will be offering 1 gig, symmetrical speed internet, which is about 80 times faster than 12mbps!  Our state-of-the-art fiber-optic network will be built out to the entire City limits, unlike Centurylink and Comcast which are limited in their coverage and speeds.  We will have competitive pricing and different speed options available to choose from for residents and businesses, along with phone and video services.  

Thank you for your interest in Connexion! Our network will be dual-stack IPv4/IPv6 enabled. Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) will be the default, but static IP addresses will be available. The standard demarcation for customer equipment will be via RJ-45 (CAT 5/6) ports off of the Optical Network Terminal (ONT).  For most customers, the network will handle route propagation, however BGP will be available as a service.

Thank you for your question. Connexion crews and City-approved contractors are working in various locations across the city to install our fiber-optic network as quickly and efficiently as possible. While currently there is no confirmed date/time for Campus West, our first lit service is scheduled for August 2019 and we will be ramping up turning on service from there.   

With Fort Collins Collins Connexion you will have the option to use one we provide or you can use your own!  

The Fort Collins Connexion Team has not yet made a final determination regarding what areas of the city will have access first. Our goal will be to get the most people on the network as quickly and efficiently as possible. We will be activating neighborhoods in various locations across the city in a controlled progression to ensure we are able to meet demand while providing exceptional customer service.

You are correct that Fort Collins Connexion is a municipal utility and not a private entity.  However, Connexion is not funded by taxpayer dollars--our financing is through the bonds that were issued back in June of 2018. Broadband must be priced appropriately in order to pay back the $142.2MM in bonds. Our products and services will be priced competitively against the local incumbents, Comcast and Centurylink, to ensure residents and businesses within Fort Collins have an alternative option for reliable and affordable broadband services. 

While nothing has been finalized, at this time the Fort Collins Connexion team is not planning on offering Charter Memberships.  Our goal is to provide upfront, easy to understand, competitive pricing for our products and services. 

Our fiber network is being managed through ArcFM Fiber Manager.

There is no immediate plan for WiFi access at our launch in August 2019, but WiFi access is still under consideration for future implementation.  

Thank you for your question.  The Fort Collins Connexion team is currently finalizing the product catalog including pricing which may differ from the original business plan.  Our products will be competitively priced against what current incumbents are charging for both residential and business services.  

For connectivity to the home, we will be installing a network interface device (NID; also known by several other names) to the outside of the property. This device (a panel or box) serves as the demarcation point between our fiber network and the customer's premises wiring. 

We are in the middle of an RFP process for those providers. We are looking at two Tier 1 providers who are geographically diverse.  Once these providers have been determined we will not be disclosing them do to security purposes.  

Thank you for contacting Fort Collins Connexion.  Our business plan, which is listed publically online at fcgov.com/broadband, provides a wealth of information pertaining to the municipal broadband program. You can find the document here.

Thank you for your question. The Fort Collins Connexion network will be built out to cover all residences and businesses within the city limits of Fort Collins.  

Thank you for contacting the City of Fort Collins Connexion team. If your property is considered within city limits it will be part of the broadband initiative.  

Every community has processes and planning tools to manage how they grow. Growth Management Areas (GMA’s) are one such tool. They are plans where a community sets its growth boundaries. They are developed with public input from citizens and coordination with nearby communities. GMA’s help a community ensure that new residents will have the services they need while also protecting the quality of life and services for those who already live there.  

There is no set time frame for areas in the Fort Collins GMA to be annexed. If City council receives a petition to annex a specific area, the City would embark on a community engagement strategy to seek input from property and business owners and other stakeholders. Planning for annexation could potentially take years of intense study, including fiscal and capital cost estimates. Additional factors to be considered would include timing, social impact, cost of providing police services, utilities, and storm drain management.  

Thank you for your inquiry. At this time the Fort Collins Connexion team is still finalizing our product catalog.  However, we will have a variety of internet service levels with very competitive prices to meet our customers needs and budgets. We look forward to sharing more information as it becomes available.  

Thank you for your interest in Fort Collins Connexion!  The fiber optic cable that is being built out throughout the City will run through existing or available electrical conduit that the City is already using for Light & Power. Once the conduit and vaults are built, the fiber is pulled through and terminated at a pedestal. This is an easy access point for crews to reach the fiber cables. When you sign up for broadband service, pre-installation work will include running fiber from the pedestal to another vault called a "flower pot", and then directly to your home using a microduct. The fiber will be connected to your home using a TAP (Terminal Access Point) Box.  Once terminated at the TAP, it will be ready to be connected from inside your home during your install.  

Absolutely.  Fort Collins Connexion will be offering high-speed internet, video and telephone services individually as well as a bundled service. Keep in mind that for residential services, we will not require a contract!  

Residents interested in signing up for Fort Collins Connexion services will have the option to order online or call in and speak with a customer service representative directly.  

Thank you for contacting us about the Fort Collins Connexion Broadband roll out.  To give you a quick update--construction began on Nov 15 with Connexion crews, in partnership with City Light & Power and our third party contractor, AEG, working on the initial fiber pull for our core ring. The ring is essentially the backbone of our network and we will be building out from there. We will begin the full network construction in January 2019 and will be building out in a rolling fashion across the city—so different areas will be built out at the same time. Unfortunately at this time we are not able to provide more details, but rest assured we are still on target for our first lit service to be in Q3 2019. 

The Fort Collins Connexion team has been working extremely hard on the strategy, design, planning and development of our new state-of-the-art fiber network.  While we would love to provide monthly updates, our goal is to provide timely, relevant information as details become available.  We appreciate your interest and thank you for your support.  

Thank you for contacting us about updates. The Fort Collins Connexion team has been hard at work with the planning, design and development of our new fiber network.  We have set out press releases announcing the hiring of the core team, as we all the partnership with Open International, who will be handling our new Utilities & Broadband Customer Information System (CIS/OSS).  Additionally, we provided an update to City Council back in August in a work session which you can access here.  

We will be actively providing more timely updates as details become available.  

Thanks for your interest in our broadband project. At this time Connexion, the City’s broadband team, is not hiring. However, please keep an eye on this page - https://www.fcgov.com/jobs/ - for future job opportunities as our broadband team grows.

Under the current business plan broadband would extend throughout the current City limits and will extend into the GMA when those areas are annexed. Current capital spending estimates are for the City limits only.

We just posted information on bonds to be issued. For those interested in purchasing bonds, more information can be found here: https://ourcity.fcgov.com/1372/documents/1847 

While Red Tail Ponds is in our Growth Management Area (GMA) and is slated to get service, at this time the details of how it will be provided are still in the works. As we begin build out of the network more of those details will be available.

We’re glad that you are interested in supporting our broadband project by purchasing bonds. While the bonds are not for sale right now, we do plan to offer $1,000 bonds for the general public to purchase. We intend to give priority to Front Range zip codes. We’ve selected three underwriters to jointly manage the bond pricing and distribution. We are still working with the underwriters on these bonds. Once they are ready for purchase we will release that information on https://ourcity.fcgov.com/citybroadband

The City appreciates and recognizes your right to choose a service provider. The intent of this map is to allow people who may be interested to express that interest.

The City is currently in the process of contracting with underwriters who will be responsible for marketing and selling the bonds through their retail and institutional channels.  Exactly how this will occur will be determined after we formalize a contract. As we contract with an underwriter, more specifics on how the bonds will become available to the public will be determined.

The City did note an interest in evaluating the ability to do a small portion of the bond offering in non-traditional denominations, sometimes called Mini Bonds that could be available to local and regional citizens who wish to support the community and this effort. How these type bonds are marketed and made available to the local public will be determined in late February.

Please check back for details.

Like other internet providers, the City will have marketing and sign-up information widely available.  The decision-maker at Redtail Ponds or Housing Catalyst would be able to select the City as a provider if they chose.

The City of Fort Collins is committed to the principles of Net Neutrality. The City Broadband Plan does not call for any restrictions on access including uploads, downloads, delivery methods or providers (email, Skype, Netflix, etc.) For more detail on Net Neutrality see page 48 of the Broadband Business Plan.
 
Net Neutrality, or Open Internet, means there are no restrictions of any kind on access to content on the Web, no limit on downloads and uploads, or no restrictions on delivery methods or providers. The key principle is that access to the internet is not blocked, slowed down, or sped up depending on who or where that access occurs. In essence, Net Neutrality means the internet is open to everyone. Council will be developing policies around net neutrality and privacy, as the project develops.

As a current Utility provider, the City takes privacy very seriously and this commitment would be practiced with broadband. Private, or personal information, includes names, addresses, phone number, emails as well as browsing and internet history and usage, email and phone records, and other generated electronic data. The City will not collect any of this information beyond what is required to provide service.

Thank you for your support of this project!  To date, the City has not considered “expression of interest” campaigns for the implementation and rollout of the fiber network. The City will work to complete the system in the most efficient way possible utilizing existing fiber, leveraging installation opportunities and ensuring city-wide coverage. Full build-out of the network to the entire city is expected to take 3-4 years, we recommend taking this into consideration when signing current or future contracts.

The map is not intended to be a formal expression of interest and will not be used to determine roll out.  It is intended to keep the community engaged as we start this process.

Thanks for following our project. Our plan calls for building and implementing high-speed next-generation broadband to the entire growth management area (GMA) throughout the next 3 to 4 years as land is annexed. The exact timing of where the roll out will take place has not been decided at this time.

We are currently hiring for key positions related to broadband. For more information, and to apply, you can visit our jobs page. 

The broadband utility will operate just like the other municipal utility. It will generate adequate, but not excessive, revenues to meet the anticipated costs of its construction and operation without relying on the other municipal utilities or the City’s General Fund.

To begin, revenues will come through issuance of bonds As customers are added, all revenues will come from broadband customers. These revenues will meet the ongoing operational and capital needs of the broadband utility as well as provide adequate funds to meet the debt service of the issued bonds.

Countryside Drive, S. Timberline Road, E. Mulberry Street and Summitview are included in the City’s Growth Management Area (GMA), which is included as part of the broadband buildout once the land is annexed. 

It appears, in looking at the map, that Eagle Ranch is not included in the Fort Collins GMA. Thank you for your interest in our project. 

To use a pin function on the Places Map click and drag a "My Home" or "My Work" pin from the box on the left side of the screen to where you want to see fiber on the map. 

The Broadband Plan calls for service throughout the growth management area. Terry Lake is currently outside the City limits but it is within the growth management area. Full build out of a fiber system is estimated to take 4-5 years.

We recognize there’s a lot of technology available to consumers today and a variety of ways to access the internet. 

The City’s broadband plan calls for dedicated fiber-optic cables to each premise that signs up for service. Fiber is different from 5G, or fifth-generation mobile networks, in that fiber uses cables to connect to the internet. 5G is a type of wireless service used to assess the internet. 5G antennas will require fiber optic support at the antenna. 

It is our understanding the technical standards for 5G will not be established until roughly 2020 and the service will not be available until mid-2020’s.  The City will continue to evaluate new technology as it becomes available and options for voice or video.

Design and hookups for the project have not been determined yet. The request for proposal (RFP) for network design is going on now. The process will fit with the general aesthetics and follow industry standards.

Hollywood and Sunset North and South of Laporte Avenue are included in the City’s Growth Management Area (GMA), which is included as part of the broadband buildout once the land is annexed.