Boulder's ALLO Fiber Contract: What Happened, Who Owns It

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ALLO Communications walked away from the City of Boulder's fiber contract in July 2026, and no company holds the citywide fiber rollout contract today. The city owns the fiber backbone, and ALLO, the company that leased it to build fiber to homes, gave the city notice on July 10, 2026 that it would not continue with the build-out. The City of Boulder announced the decision on July 30, 2026, and no replacement partner has been chosen.

If you were waiting for ALLO fiber at your address, it is not coming under that contract.

What the City of Boulder Fiber Contract Promised

ALLO leased a portion of the city's fiber-backbone infrastructure. The city's July announcement calls it the 2025 lease agreement, while its project milestones list the lease under 2024. The purpose was to expand high-speed internet access to 80% of Boulder by 2028 and 97% by 2030.

The full network would have spanned around 300 miles, serving Boulder homes, all five mobile home communities and some properties in the foothills west of the city. A large-scale build-out of the "last mile", the lines that connect homes to the backbone, was expected to begin in 2026.

The backbone and the last mile are different things. The backbone does not connect directly to homes or businesses; an internet provider has to build those connections and offer service. That last-mile work was ALLO's side of the contract.

The fiber backbone: the City of Boulder. It is a fully city-owned asset.
The rollout contract: nobody new. ALLO's lease is in wind-up, and the city is working with ALLO on contractual resolution. No other company has been selected.
Upkeep of the fiber ring for now: ALLO. Its notice offered to keep locating, maintaining and repairing the city fiber ring at its own cost until a transition plan is agreed, with the hand-off to the city or its chosen contractor expected within about 120 days.

2018: City Council voted to fund a city-owned fiber backbone as a first step toward wider high-speed internet.
2023: Council voted 9-0 for a partnership model, letting a partner use up to half of the backbone's capacity while building and owning the last-mile lines.
Before that choice: the city had looked at a municipal fiber utility. Its projections showed residents could have been responsible for $10 million to $22 million a year in subsidies on top of construction.
2024: The backbone was finished, at a cost of around $20 million for around 65 miles of fiber. The city released a request for proposals for service providers, and its milestones list the fiber lease with ALLO the same year.
2025: ALLO began limited construction in the Chautauqua neighborhood, as part of a separate project to move utility lines underground.
July 2026: ALLO pulled out of the citywide build-out.
September 2026: The city issued a Request for Information to other companies.

ALLO had worked through the planning, design and permitting phases. Its notice to the city gives three reasons the project became infeasible:

significant increases in labor and material costs across the fiber industry
more competition among fiber internet providers in the city
shifts in the market caused in part by AT&T's acquisition of Lumen's residential Quantum Fiber business

ALLO acknowledged that not building Boulder means failing to meet its obligations under the agreement. It asked for a mutual end to the lease on terms where the city keeps ALLO's entire initial $1.5 million rental payment.

Nothing has replaced the ALLO fiber contract. No company has been chosen to build fiber to Boulder homes, and no new contract has been signed.

The city set out in July to find a new partner through a new procurement while "exploring our legal options in this unfortunate contract situation". Whether the city will sue ALLO is not known: no lawsuit has been made public as of October 23, 2026.

In September 2026 the city issued a Request for Information asking companies how they might use the fiber backbone and what benefits they could offer the community. Responses were due in October 2026. The RFI gathers information and does not select a provider; the city will review the responses before deciding on next steps. No timeline for new internet service options has been given.

The backbone already carries city traffic. It supports city operations and connections with community partners such as the Boulder Research and Administration Network (BRAN), Boulder Valley School District and Boulder County. BRAN connects the city, CU Boulder, NCAR and Department of Commerce labs.

Pulling out of the citywide build-out does not end ALLO's use of the city's fiber entirely. Its notice asks that the city and ALLO keep working together as ALLO pursues projects in the Chautauqua development and with the Sundance Film Festival, adding: "Both projects would require ALLO to maintain limited access to portions of the City fiber ring."

Your choice today is among the providers already serving Boulder:

Cable: Xfinity reaches most Boulder addresses.
Fiber or DSL: Quantum Fiber and CenturyLink, with fiber at some addresses and DSL at others. Check by exact address.
Fixed wireless: T-Mobile Home Internet, no contract, availability by address.

The FCC National Broadband Map shows which providers report service at your exact address. For a side-by-side of plans, see the Boulder home internet comparison, and for 5G options, does Boulder have 5G home internet?.

ALLO Communications informs city it will pull out of contract to build out fiber network — City of Boulder, July 30, 2026 — Tier 1. ALLO will not proceed, the 2025 lease, the 80%/97% coverage targets, and the city's plan for a new procurement. Accessed 2026-10-23.
ALLO notice to City of Boulder, July 10, 2026 (PDF) — Tier 1. ALLO's reasons, the $1.5 million rent, and the fiber-ring upkeep and hand-off. Accessed 2026-10-23.
Community Broadband — City of Boulder — Tier 1. Backbone ownership, project milestones 2018-2026, the September 2026 Request for Information, and the unavailable timeline for new service. Accessed 2026-10-23.
ALLO pulls out of Boulder's citywide fiber project, forcing city to find new partner — Boulder Reporting Lab, July 30, 2026 — News. Network size, backbone cost and length, the municipal-utility subsidy projections, one-provider homes, and BRAN. Accessed 2026-10-23.
FCC National Broadband Map — Tier 1. Address-level provider availability across Boulder. Accessed 2026-10-23.