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Coloradans fare better than most Americans when it comes to pesky robocallers, according to the latest data from YouMail, which has a free call-blocking app.

But at nine calls per capita last month — below the nation’s average of 12.3 — Colorado phones received an estimated 51.6 million robocalls in September. That per capita figure includes babies.

The problem is, said Danny Katz, executive director of Colorado Public Interest Research Group, many of us are getting way more annoying calls. And the number of robocalls in the state has doubled since 2016 despite laws requiring phone companies to adopt technology that authenticates a voice caller’s identity to prevent spoofing and scams.

While the technology doesn’t authenticate text messages, the FCC has other rules banning text messages sent by an autodialer.

The Federal Communications Commission has taken action. In August, the FCC kicked out 1,200 noncompliant voice service companies “effectively disconnecting them from (the) U.S. phone network.”

But in a new analysis of federal data, PIRG found that only 44% of more than 9,000 phone companies had fully installed the technology. Another 18% have it partially installed. And 31% haven’t installed it.

“Unfortunately, protecting consumers is a marathon and every time that we get to the next benchmark, oftentimes the scam artists are thinking, OK, what’s the new technology or new way that we can get around the rules and regulations?” Katz said. “But I do think every benchmark we hit is a higher bar for scam artists to have to pass. Even though it’s not working perfectly yet, I think there’s plenty of us who have seen a decrease in the number of robocalls and spam texts we have gotten over the last few years.”

Katz is talking about the phone companies in compliance, like T-Mobile, Verizon and other familiar consumer mobile services. Verizon has its Spam Alerts and Call Filter tools for landlines and wireless to help users identify suspicious callers and block them. T-Mobile has ScamShield. AT&T has ActiveArmor.

According to the broadband trade association US Telecom, on behalf of AT&T, the number of robocalls is actually going down. Even YouMail’s data shows that numbers have been in decline this year.

Still, “we recognize that illegal robocalls and scams do continue to be a scourge on our networks, which is why carriers have implemented security protocols,” the trade group said in a statement.

More to come on this topic. Are spam calls getting worse, better or have you even noticed? Take the reader poll to help us better understand the impact on Coloradans.

➔ cosun.co/WWrobocalls

Why Comcast is closing its Centennial HQ and laying off 302

Comcast this week told the state’s labor department that it will close its West Division headquarters in Centennial and layoff 302 employees as part of a major restructuring.

In a memo from Sept. 18, company leaders told employees they need to realign the company for growth. And something that’s not growing? Legacy cable TV and broadband businesses.

The company doesn’t even call it cable TV anymore, but rather, “residential connectivity and platforms.” In its second-quarter earnings report, Comcast lost 11% of its domestic video customers in a year, down by 1.4 million to 11.8 million customers. A decade ago, it had 22.3 million video customers.

Over the same decade, its broadband subscribers grew 40% to 31.5 million, as of June. But that is falling, too, and was down 1.6% in June, compared with a year ago, for a loss of 528,000 internet customers.

But Comcast’s revenues are growing, up 2.1% in the second quarter from a year earlier, thanks to its Universal theme parks and its mobile phone service. Net income nearly tripled to $11 billion, though that was largely due to selling its interest in Hulu to Disney for $9.4 billion.

The restructuring gets rid of divisions in order to focus on regions. If that sounds a little confusing, a Comcast spokesperson clarified Thursday that the company has three divisions: Central, West and Northeast.

The Centennial office, located at 9401 E. Panorama Circle, is the West Division headquarters. But all three divisions are closing. The Central division in Atlanta, is laying off 240 employees. The Northeast division in New Hampshire layoff total has not been confirmed.

But regions, which include other offices and Comcast operations in the U.S., will remain.

The city of Centennial is still home to several Comcast facilities, including an older building at 4100 E. Dry Creek. The aging facility, which existed before Centennial was incorporated in 2001, is the local headend where large satellite dishes help distribute video and is the metro Denver home of Comcast Technology Solutions.

Centennial city officials said in a statement that it “feels for those impacted workers,” but also understands “the need for our companies to restructure and recalibrate in order to remain competitive in a challenging economic environment.”

Neil Marciniak, Centennial’s director of Economic Development, said Comcast will still be the city’s largest private employer. Based on 2024 data, Comcast employed 2,500 people in Centennial, he said.

Colorado federal workers unemployment claims up 81% in a week

The federal shutdown continued to impact federal workers in Colorado with the numbers filing for unemployment growing 81% since last week to 1,119 since Oct. 1, according to the state labor department.

That includes folks who took deferred resignation earlier in the year and had their last day Sept. 30. But current employees, who haven’t been paid since the shutdown began, are now 18 days into the shutdown.

Companies are sharing information on what they’re doing to ease the financial burden, including:

• Verizon will allow impacted workers defer bill payments during the shutdown. Just call 1-800-VERIZON. >> Details
• Chase bank set up a special phone number to help federal workers concerned about paying their Chase mortgage, credit card or other loan payment, at 1-800-254-7713.
• MyFedBenefits is also keeping track of shutdown assistance locally and nationwide. >> Map
• More options: Food banks, and calling 2-1-1 for assistance with almost everything else.

Speaking of the government shutdown, here’s how What’s Working readers responded to last week’s poll on how the shutdown has affected your life. Check it out 🡻🡻

Sun economy stories you may have missed

➔ Dark money group that spent big in Colorado’s Democratic primaries approved funding for Vail retreat for state lawmakers, lobbyists. The Colorado Sun has learned that One Main Street Colorado signed off on a request for $25,000 from the Colorado Opportunity Caucus to fund hotel rooms. >> Read story

➔ Michael Bennet, Phil Weiser are amassing millions of dollars for their Democratic gubernatorial primary fight. The candidates had about $4.6 million in combined campaign cash to begin October. >> Read story

➔ Nederland fire erased a third of local businesses and with it 30% of town sales tax revenue. U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, Gov. Jared Polis visited Caribou Village Shopping Center and promised help navigating access to government help >> Read story

➔ Colorado plans to fully digitize paper and analog land records, some dating back to the 1860s, by next year. A $2 fee from every property filing since 2016 has helped fund the state’s $21M effort to preserve paper and analog records for digital eternity >> Read story

➔ Subsidized flights to small Colorado communities will continue during shutdown — for now. Denver International Airport has the most federally subsidized essential air service routes of anywhere in the nation. That includes flights to Cortez, Alamosa and Pueblo. >> Read story

➔ From Brooklyn to Beulah, hippie beginnings to golden years, a retired couple returns to van life. Part of Colorado’s rapidly aging demographic, Dave and Helene Van Manen left their mountain home for a more practical future — on their own terms >> Read story

Other working bits

➔ Dollar General agrees to pay $400,000 fine for pricing inaccuracies. The settlement comes after the state attorney general’s office sent investigators to stores in Milliken and Loveland in 2023 and found that more than 2% of item prices advertised on shelves rang in differently at the cash register. The AG’s office continued to inspect stores all over the state and found that 12 of 18 inspections charged a higher price at the register.

Dollar General, which has 70 stores in Colorado, denied the allegations but agreed to the settlement, which also requires the retailer to do price audits at each store for the next three years, according to terms. >> View settlement

➔ There are 157,819 job openings on state’s job board. But of those, nearly one-third are remote or out of state, according to the state labor department. As of Oct. 15, 45,880 were out of state and 5,522 were remote. The top company posting jobs? Oracle, with 10,153 openings. Registration to the state’s job board, at connectingcolorado.gov, is required for those collecting unemployment checks. >> Hunt for a job

➔ Pueblo recycler named to Cleantech 50 watch list. That’s a notable honor for Driven Plastics, which takes unwanted plastic bags or that shrink wrap that companies excessively use and turns it into an additive to make asphalt roads last longer. For each mile of one lane, the Pueblo manufacturer recycles up to 10 tons of that thin plastic. >> Earlier story

Got some economic news or business bits Coloradans should know? Tell us: cosun.co/heyww

Thanks for sticking with me for this week’s report. As always, share your 2 cents on how the economy is keeping you down or helping you up at cosun.co/heyww. ~ tamara

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What’s Working is a Colorado Sun column about surviving in today’s economy. Email tamara@coloradosun.com with stories, tips or questions. Read the archive, ask a question at cosun.co/heyww and don’t miss the next one by signing up at coloradosun.com/getww.

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