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The Federal Communications Commission has been slow to provide details to Sen. Michael Bennet about how CenturyLink is spending millions of dollars on publicly funded rural internet improvements.<\/p>\n
Bennet, D-Colo, sent a letter to the FCC<\/a> in early November asking for details about CenturyLink\u2019s work by Nov. 10.<\/p>\n As of Monday, his office had not received a reply, spokeswoman Samantha Slater said.<\/p>\n CenturyLink received funding in 2015 to improve internet services to homes and businesses in Colorado, and while some general information is available on the FCC\u2019s website<\/a>, it doesn\u2019t provide many specifics, the letter stated.<\/p>\n A presentation by representatives of CenturyLink in September stated the company received $159 million to improve internet service to 50,000 areas across the state over six years.<\/p>\n \u201cGiven that taxpayer funding is helping to pay for these deployments, we believe our constituents have a right to clear, detailed information about where those funds are spent,\u201d according to Bennet\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n The letter requested data that would tell consumers if they lived in areas selected for improved service, when they could expect service to improve and what speeds they could expect, among other details.<\/p>\n Bennet\u2019s staff plans to continue working on the issue, Slater said.<\/p>\n CenturyLink is aware of the senator\u2019s letter, but a spokesman for the company, Brandon Yergey, did not provide answers to other emailed questions.<\/p>\n The FCC did not immediately respond to requests from The Durango Herald for comment.<\/p>\n \u201cThe FCC\u2019s Connect America Fund is an important federal program that can help to close the digital divide, but the funding must be used to sufficiently provide internet access to our most disconnected communities,\u201d Bennet said in a statement emailed to the Herald.<\/p>\n The Southwest Colorado Council of Governments<\/a> sent a letter to Bennet\u2019s office in October raising concerns about CenturyLink and the company\u2019s willingness to share information.<\/p>\n The council has received complaints about CenturyLink\u2019s service across the region, including areas that were slated to receive publicly funded upgrades, the letter stated.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen approached regarding these concerns, answers are elusive and issues remain largely unaddressed,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n In some areas, there has been a decrease in the internet speed that CenturyLink has provided, said Miriam Gillow-Wiles, executive director of the council. The council\u2019s membership includes city and county governments from across the region.<\/p>\n A map that CenturyLink provided to the council in September used the company\u2019s call centers for geographic reference instead of counties or other more common boundaries.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not a tangible product for local governments to understand,\u201d Gillow-Wiles said.<\/p>\n The council also noted specific concern about internet improvements around Lemon Reservoir. The company told the council that the area would not receive publicly funded improvements. But the FCC\u2019s website shows that the area should receive improvements, the council\u2019s letter said.<\/p>\n One of the council members, the city of Cortez, is interested in where CenturyLink is making improvements because the city has its own fiber-optic network and companies lease the lines to provide internet service to customers.<\/p>\n If the city of Cortez knew where CenturyLink was building new fiber, it could make sure that the city\u2019s infrastructure focused on areas of town that would remain unserved or under-served after the company\u2019s improvements were finished, City Manager Shane Hale said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe could structure any deployments to ensure we didn\u2019t overbuild them,\u201d Hale said.<\/p>\n mshinn@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n