Fiber optic internet coming to Loveland

Brieana Reed-Harmel will lead a new Loveland Water and Power division as the municipal fiber manager. The city council decided to provide their own broadband network.  Reed-Harmel acts as Division Manager of the High-Speed Fiber Enterprise and will manage construction and operation of this citywide network.

In May 2012 Brieana joined the City’s Water and Power Department as an electrical engineer. She rose in the ranks and became the Senior Electrical Engineer that same year. In June 2016 City Manager Steve Adams named her as manager of the broadband project.  Reed-Harmel presented on the broadband topic at 17 City Council meetings.

Construction will start in 2019 and will proceed for three to four years. Nokia of America designed the network plan. The fiber-optic internet service will be accessible to every home, business, and school in Loveland. Loveland’s broadband team conducted almost three years of research. They determined that the need is large enough  for the network to be fully funded by subscribers.

The City Council approved the measure in November and it passed on Dec. 18. The first reading of the issuance of utility enterprise bonds to raise $97 million to fund it. The second reading for the bond measure will be Jan. 15.