Operation Link Up - Silverton, Colorado

01/28/2022

All the previous work on middle mile infrastructure
pays off in this era. Last mile providers (ISPs) can get to you!

12/30/2021

There will never be a better time than now to find funding and partners for your broadband expansion. Improve your access and increase bandwidth with over $350 billion available through federal and state government programs and grants.

04/05/2021

The focus on infrastructure in 2021 will include internet and high speed broadband. There's much to be done yet to secure fast, reliable and redundant data links to the Western Slope.

03/24/2020

What a blessing Internet bandwidth has been in this Covid-19 crisis. This is why we banded together and fought long and hard for the telecom infrastructure we were due.

That same cooperative spirit is still in our mountain communities and will get us safely to the other side of this pandemic. Stay safe and thanks to community activism and effort, stay in touch.

01/12/2020

The late December fire on Greene Street shows once again how vulnerable isolated communities can be for utilities and telecommunications. For some time that night the town was dark and cut-off from the rest of the world. Path redundancy is the key to maintain critical services. Hardwired phone landlines worked when nothing else would for townspeople. That's why you keep microwave paths with fiber optic lines for isolated communities.

06/16/2019

Discussions are underway with San Miguel Power to include a fiber optic line as they replace the high voltage power line over Red Mountain to B***o Bridge. We began this discussion with SMPA more than a decade ago and have awaited the line's replacement.

This will provide the last critical link of infrastructure to complete Durango to Grand Junction and beyond. This is the "last" fiber optic link up for our multi-year cause and provides critical path redundancy for many rural communities

Congratulations for your persistence and vision to understand the importance of this cause to our regional economic future.

12/22/2015

What an amazing journey to get Silverton, Colorado connected by fiber optic to the rest of the world. A heartfelt thank you to all for your sustained support.

Infrastructure connections have importance beyond Silverton, to the entire region. The larger goal of creating a fiber optic backbone along US-550 corridor through Western Colorado has only the Silverton-Ouray gap to close.

08/14/2012

Operation Linkup recently released a proposal on an initiative with Newmont Mining and EAGLENet Alliance to use the Idarado Tunnel on US550 to connect Ouray - Telluride and Silverton by fiber optic. We're working with regional communities to build consensus on the project before making a formal proposal to Newmont Mining and EAGLE-Net. Stay tuned for details.

04/19/2012

Thanks for the great turn-out in Ridgway for the 2012 Spring Summit. The speakers and information was exceptional! OLU was Colorado's first LTPT (local technology planning team) and we're still leading the way with information and resources to make a difference in our rural communities for bringing better broadband. Thanks for participating. Plan on coming to Silverton later this year for the 2012 Fall Summit!

03/31/2012

Mark your calendars for Monday, April 16th in Ridgway for the OLU Spring Summit for 2012! The all-day event will take place at the 4H Community Center in Ridgway Colorado and begins at 9 AM.

We have a great slate of rural broadband speakers lined up. The focus will be on practical solutions, action and strategies for rural broadband organization and development. Session from the perspective of Economic Development, Government Broadband Infrastrucutre Initiatives, Partnering With Utility Providers and Trends In State Broadband Law and Regulations will be featured.

Join us for a day of infromation and interaction with Colorado's rural broadband experts and activists. The opening session will be at 9 AM and the last session will start at 4 PM.

03/18/2012

Very important de-regulation bill working it's way through Colorado government right now. Please take a moment to wirtie your Colorado lawmaker to support SB-157. Help end CenturyLink's stranglehold on Colorado rural telecom development.

http://durangoherald.com/article/20120318/NEWS01/703189913/-1/News

Phones were not smart. Mail was not electronic. If people wanted tweets, they had to go outside and listen to birds. And if they wanted to call someone, they had to use a telephone attached to the wall with a cord.

02/03/2012

OLU is currently working on establishing the foundation for a regional or statewide broadband cooperative. Thanks to a volunteer steering group drawn from across the state, we're looking at different organizational structures such as a 501 C(12) designation. Watch this space and Google Groups for an announcement of a teleconference in mid-February to update progress.