NC Telecom, a Meeker company that provides broadband Internet access in northwest Colorado, went bankrupt last week because it could not make payments on a $12 million federal loan.
General manager Rick Heming said the company filed for protection under Chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Friday. The company was unable to renegotiate terms of its loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service. The loan was used to build a fiber-optic line from Rifle to Steamboat Springs.
NC Telecom’s broadband customers in Meeker, Steamboat Springs and Craig won’t be affected by the bankruptcy, Heming said. The company plans to emerge as a viable business after restructuring. Roughly $1.9 million in services owed to Rio Blanco and Moffat counties and the Yampa Valley Economic Development Council will still be provided, he said.
The four-employee company, launched in 1999 with backing from the White River Electric Association, was hit by regulatory changes that kept it from selling voice services, Heming said. It also was hurt by the loss of Grand Junction and Glenwood Springs as customer bases when a partner building a fiber-optic line along Interstate 70 failed in 2001, he said.
Staff writer Greg Griffin can be reached at 303-820-1241 or ggriffin@denverpost.com.
