Qwest lacks cooperation, compromise, HRMD says

"Their negotiation strategy is not one of conversation," said Jeff Case, director of engineering for the metro districts.

The battle between Qwest and the metro districts goes back to March and stems from Qwest's unwillingness to work with the metro districts regarding installation of cable for broadband technology in Highlands Ranch, Case said.

The metro districts wants the new technology for the community, but it has a responsibility to protect the landscaping along streets where the cable would be installed, Case said.

Every contractor who installs equipment on metro districts property always has been required to adhere to certain standards and rules in the community, Case said. But Qwest is unwilling to go along with many of these requirements, which is unreasonable, say most metro districts board members.

During a July metro districts board meeting, Case discussed some of the requests Qwest has refused to go along with. For example, the metro districts requires that equipment cabinets on its property along roadways be painted tan to blend in with surrounding fences.

However, Qwest said no because painting the cabinets would increase the cost, even though US West, which now is owned by Qwest, has been painting equipment cabinets for years and never complained about the cost.

The cost amounts to a few hundred dollars per cabinet, Case said.

Another request by the metro districts is for Qwest to secure a bond or letter of credit that would guarantee that, in the event the franchise dissolves, the district would be able to access money to remove equipment left behind.

This is standard procedure for all cable and broadband franchises that put equipment on metro districts property, Case said.

Again, Qwest said no.

Romaine Pacheco, spokeswoman for Qwest, said the construction bond required covers this request, Case said. However, Case said, this bond requires Qwest only to repair damage incurred during equipment installation. If the company goes bankrupt, the metro districts is stuck with useless equipment.

Also, as a part of the Douglas County Franchise Agreement, Qwest has agreed to secure a bond for equipment installed in county areas, and Case wondered why Qwest refused to extend the same courtesy to Highlands Ranch.

In this agreement, Qwest also has consented to provide services free to Douglas County public facilities identified in the agreement, such as libraries and possibly schools.

However, the company refuses to extend the same courtesy to public facilities in Highlands Ranch, even though it too is in Douglas County.

Qwest said it could not provide free Internet and cable services to the library or schools in Highlands Ranch because there is considerable cost associated with providing the services.

But Case cannot see any additional costs because the cable already will be in the ground and the metro districts has said it will pay for any extension of cable necessary to these facilities.

As he sees it, the only costs involved are lost revenues from subscriptions to the service, which will be more than compensated for with revenues from subscribers throughout Highlands Ranch.

"We think, from a community standpoint, the community should somehow derive some benefit from Qwest's expansion into Highlands Ranch," Case said.

He and the metro districts board of directors believe Qwest can afford to extend free service to libraries and schools as a good will gesture to the community, but since Qwest's acquisition of US West, the corporation has become stingy in its community relations department, Case said.

A recent published report said Qwest pulled the plug on all reduced rate Internet service to schools throughout Colorado because it was tired of charging schools and state institutions artificially low rates.

Another report says Qwest has frozen all charitable contributions that US West used to make, including funding for the US West Foundation, which donated millions to charities such as the Columbine Community Citizens Task Force and the Curtis Park Community Center.

Without this funding, a technology lab at the Curtis Park Community Center, created to help inner-city kids have access to computers and the Internet, will have to shut down, the report said.

Although Qwest President Joseph Nacchio says his company is a good neighbor, the Highlands Ranch Metro Districts board of directors has yet to see the corporation's good neighbor policies put into action.

In fact, Qwest recently informed the metro districts that if the board of directors doesn't agree to Qwest's terms, Qwest would put its equipment cabinets in the Douglas County rights-of-way along streets in Highlands Ranch, Case said.

Because of an agreement with the county, Qwest has the right to do this and will proceed if negotiations with the metro districts break down.

This means the large Qwest boxes will not blend in with their surroundings, but instead stand only feet from the community's streets.

Pacheco told Case the company wants to work with the metro districts regarding placement of the equipment, but the district's demands are unreasonable.

However, the board of directors doesn't see it this way. In a letter to Nacchio, the board said repeated attempts to work with the corporation have failed because even the simplest requests have been denied.

The letter states, "We have been attempting to negotiate with Ms. Romaine Pacheco for several months with very little success. Although we have significantly reduced the conditions initially sought in an agreement, Ms. Pacheco's response has been to reject even our most simple conditions, such as our desire to have the cabinets painted to match the fencing."

The board members go on to ask for Qwest's help in resolving the district's concerns "on behalf of all your current and future customers in Highlands Ranch."

So far, Nacchio has not responded to the letter. Also, Pacheco and Qwest Director of Public Affairs Peter Kirchhof did not return phone calls for this article.

The metro districts staff and board of directors feel somewhat trapped by Qwest. They understand the need for broadband services in Highlands Ranch but don't want to be bullied into an agreement that doesn't protect or enhance the community.

And if the metro districts does not agree to Qwest's demands, the cabinets will become eyesores cluttering Highlands Ranch roadways.

But for the metro districts board of directors, this is a cause worth fighting for and it says it's not done yet.