by A new agreement announced this week between Comcast and the Colorado Department of Transportation could spur other communications service providers to explore new avenues for obtaining network capacity. Through the agreement, Comcast will lease two strands of a portion of the fiber network that the CDOT uses for electronic sign message control, traffic camera surveillance, travel time detection, weather station monitoring and other forms of communications. The lease agreement is for 20 years.
Comcast said it plans to use the network to launch advanced video, Internet and digital voice services in several Colorado mountain communities with a target rollout date of spring 2011. As part of the agrement, Comcast will provide maintenance services for the portion of the network it plans to use, covering an area between Vail and Golden, Colo. Comcast and CDOT estimate the value of Comcast’s maintenance services at $14.5 million over the next 20 years.
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