City staff brief commissioners as Ubiquiti and Gateway propose citywide fiber in Fargo right‑of‑way

City staff and two private companies, Ubiquiti and Gateway Fiber, presented competing proposals to install fiber infrastructure across the Fargo right‑of‑way and told the City Commission the projects could touch nearly every parcel in the city.

The nut graf: The proposals differ in business models — Gateway as a vertically integrated internet provider and Ubiquiti as an open‑access network operator — but share practical impacts the city must manage: extensive locating and limited public utility easements (PUEs), sidewalk and yard impacts during installation, and staff time to process permits and locate existing infrastructure.

Kevin Gorder, who introduced the project on behalf of city engineering, said staff are not seeking action at the meeting but will collect feedback and return with an approval request at the regular meeting "on the 27th." He summarized what the proposals would require in the right‑of‑way: bore pits, potholed crossings where utilities must be exposed, occasional driveway or alley disruptions and restoration obligations under Fargo’s…