Local officials are less than pleased with two simultaneous city-wide fiber optic network projects that have prompted an outcry from residents over torn up yards, broken water, sewer and sprinkler lines and other issues.
At the meeting Thursday, city leaders heard reassurances from representatives from Ubiquity Group, the company responsible for building and maintaining one of two fiber optic networks in the city, Mears, the project’s general contractor, and Fiber First, which will be leasing the network to provide the high-speed internet once construction is completed.
“It’s high quality, a business class fiber network, everything you get is dedicated directly into your home” said John Fetter, a sales representative for Fiber First. “We bring equal access, best-in-class service, upgrading the technology... I understand lawns are getting torn up, and I understand it’s an issue everywhere, but it’s one of those things where you have got to break a few eggs to upgrade the technology.”
Fetter said once completed, the project will give residents all over Taylor unparalleled, high-speed service at an affordable price.
“I fully understand yards are going to be torn up when you are building projects, but (not) when you don’t put them back better than you found them or exactly how they were found,” said District 4 Councilman Robert Garcia at the regular meeting June 22. “I have got pictures of gravel. Why would someone put gravel in the yard?”
AT&T, which is simultaneously building their own fiber network in the city that is also causing many complaints from residents, was not present at the meeting.
“We are not done, and we haven’t left, and I guarantee it will be as good or better when we leave,” said Mike Hickey, the senior project manager of the broadband division for Mears. “We have crews, they come from out of town. It’s construction. We can do final restoration until we are done with construction.”
Nonetheless, local officials expressed concerns over the projects at the meeting and said they were working closely with those involved to remedy the issues.
“We have had challenges with these groups, AT&T and Mears both since they have arrived in Taylor,” said Public Works Director Jim Gray. “We are seeing some of the same issues over and over, a lot dealing with hitting lines and not repairing them appropriately.”
Gray said several subcontractors have been asked by Mears to leave and that the Public Works department is contacting residents who have complained to make sure their issues are resolved.
Ubiquity spokesman Jason Leiker said the good news was a large portion of the digging in the city’s right-ofway has already been finished, and a majority of the remaining work will be focused on arial poles, which he described as “way less intrusive.”
“The good news is service area 2 is 80 percent arial, so we will not be digging in people’s yards as much,” Leiker said.
The project should be completed by year’s end, Leiker said.
“We know that there have been problems,” he said. “Our goal is to fix or address every problem within 48 hours once we have them,” he said. “From our perspective, we are trying to do everything we can to be a good partner.”
