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Midco seeks franchise to build citywide fiber in Mound; company outlines schedule, construction and customer signup
Summary
Midco presented a franchise ordinance and construction plan to the Mound City Council for citywide fiber expansion and cable/broadband service, proposing to reach all Mound locations with an estimated completion by late 2026–early 2027; the council held a public hearing and will consider the ordinance after the required seven-day waiting period.
Midco representatives outlined plans on April 22 to expand a fiber-optic network to every location in Mound and asked the council to open a franchise ordinance required for work in public rights-of-way.
Ellie Burrows, Midco government-relations manager for Minnesota, and Jason Sachs, Midco general manager for field operations, presented the company’s footprint, customer service program and construction approach. Midco said it plans to serve all of Mound with fiber and estimates approximately 2,196 locations and roughly 33,121 feet of new fiber in the city’s right-of-way; the company said construction would be completed in 2026 with service activation into early 2027.
Burrows described Midco’s community engagement and a notification plan that includes mailers, door hangers and neighborhood contacts. Sachs described construction techniques — including directional boring and the use of vaults or pad-mounted pedestals — and said Midco will install its own pedestals; Midco said final yard restoration is part of its standard practice and that as-built staking and flags would notify residents of locations before work begins.
Council members asked about whether Midco would reuse existing pedestals or have to install new ones (Sachs said Midco installs its own pedestal/ground vault), whether residents will be notified before yards are disturbed (company: yes, with door hangers and construction-phase contacts) and whether the build would include all households (company: yes; company to confirm exact location counts on the map). A resident at the public hearing asked whether Comcast/Xfinity’s business role (as a minority investor in Midco’s financing structure, described by Midco as 49% financial backing) would change operations; Midco representatives said Comcast is a financial backer only and Midco would operate separately.
The council opened and closed the required public hearing. Under state statute the council must wait at least seven days after the hearing before adopting an ordinance; staff said the franchise ordinance and summary publication would return to council at a subsequent meeting for formal action.
Ending: No ordinance vote was taken at the hearing; councilors and Midco staff agreed to send follow-up materials and requested confirmation of location counts and construction timing.
