Zayo reports construction progress on Dallas County middle‑mile broadband; county plans laptop giveaways for digital equity
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Summary
Zayo told the commissioners that engineering and permitting are well advanced for a county middle‑mile build, construction has started on sections, ISPs will apply to state funding after the May 15 launch, and the county will distribute laptops via a digital‑equity partner.
Zayo representatives updated the Dallas County Commissioners Court on April 15 about a county‑led middle‑mile broadband build, reporting major progress on engineering and permitting and early construction activity.
Jason Alford, director of sales for Zayo, told the court engineering is 93% complete, permitting is substantially submitted and 57% of permits are finalized, and that about 40% of the planned construction footage has active work underway. “Good news is...we've got 93 percent of our construction complete already,” Alford said during the briefing, using the company’s internal progress metrics to describe the project’s status.
Zayo showed a map of ZIP codes where Internet service providers have already signaled interest; the company and county officials said May 15 is the key date when the Texas Broadband Office launches applications for BEAD‑like funding and ISPs will begin applying for projects anchored on the new middle mile. Commissioners asked the contractor to help county staff collect letters and documentation from schools, nursing homes and other community anchors to improve the county’s case for priority ZIP codes.
From a digital‑equity angle, Zayo and county staff described a partnership with a digital‑inclusion group that will host three laptop distribution events this summer. Zayo said the pilot will distribute 50 laptops per event (150 in the first round), offer device setup and basic digital‑skills training, and later expand to follow‑up skills programming. A QR code the contractor shared allows residents with K‑12 children and no laptop to register for the lottery for devices.
Commissioners asked staff to circulate additional outreach materials and to provide a straightforward list of organizations (schools, churches, YMCAs, nursing homes) that could vouch for broadband need in specific ZIP codes; county staff agreed to follow up with commissioners’ offices.
Ending: Zayo said the project aims for final completion in December 2026; the county will continue weekly coordination with the vendor and the state office and will begin targeted outreach to identify local anchor institutions and households for digital‑equity programming.
Votes/actions: No court vote was required for the update; the court asked staff to return with outreach materials and to share event dates for the laptop distribution pilot.