Intrepid Fiber Networks CEO shares plans to expand internet infrastructure in Pueblo
Plans for a new project to expand internet infrastructure in Pueblo are falling into place.
Jack Waters, CEO of Intrepid Fiber Networks, recently unveiled some of those plans to the Chieftain and said the company has already started the project, which the National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced last month.
Intrepid is building 78,129 feet of aerial and 29,173 feet of underground fiber. It’s expected that upward of 41,000 homes will have the opportunity to connect to that fiber network and access faster internet speeds.
Waters said he estimates installation of the network's infrastructure will be completed in two to three years.
“Think of us as, we’re building all the plumbing to the houses, and then our customers will be internet service providers that sell to the consumer on top of our infrastructure,” Waters said.
Intrepid's first internet service provider (ISP) partner is T-Mobile, which has begun to market its T-Mobile Fiber service to Pueblo residents. T-Mobile is touting its service as “some of the fastest internet speed in town.”
Waters said some of the project's first installations are scheduled for this week and that the company’s main focus is single-family homes and multi-dwelling units in the city. He said Intrepid isn’t building in Pueblo West at this time, but noted it’s possible the company will expand its plans in the future.
Intrepid Fiber, a Broomfield startup from the investment company Brookfield Infrastructure, is slated to receive a $2.7 million grant from a federal program that seeks to bring high-speed internet to remote and underserved communities. Intrepid is covering the remaining costs of the $4.6 million project.
That grant money will be used to build the network’s “backbone,” which are routes that carry other neighborhoods and pockets of ISP’s traffic and can eventually serve anchor institutions such as government buildings, fire and police stations and libraries, Waters said.
“We think Pueblo deserves to have a great fiber network,” Waters said. “We want to replicate this model across a number of different cities around the United States and Pueblo was high on the list.”
Northglenn was also high on Intrepid’s list as it's the only other municipality in the state where the company is working with T-Mobile to bring fiber service to the area. T-Mobile in 2021 launched the service in New York with a separate fiber provider.
Waters touted Intrepid’s infrastructure as unlike any other that's come to Pueblo because of its proposed gigabit speeds, which can boost the quality of an internet connection. He also mentioned the network could give consumers a third option when choosing an internet provider, as many consumers must currently choose between Comcast and Lumen.
Waters called Intrepid a "wholesale open access network," which allows other ISPs to access the network infrastructure.
He said the infrastructure could, depending on the location, help connect homes that are without internet, which is an issue not just in Pueblo but in other parts of the state and U.S. The infrastructure itself could last decades and should require smaller upgrades over that time rather than requiring a full rebuild, he said.
According to Intrepid’s website, its vision is to “become the nation’s most prolific developer of fiber-to-the-home infrastructure."
Chieftain reporter Josue Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @josuepwrites. Support local news, subscribe to the Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.
More on fiber broadband: Proposed project to boost broadband network in Pueblo nets millions in federal funding
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: CEO of company leading Pueblo broadband project shares vision, goals
