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Council briefed on Comcast fiber rollout to all lots; installation to be underground
Summary
Town staff said Comcast will install underground fiber with vaults placed near lots across Interlaken; the town will not pay installation costs and lateral connections to homes are homeowner-paid. Work will require frequent utility staking and interaction with public-works staff.
Town staff told the Interlaken Town Council that Comcast’s planned franchise installation will use underground fiber and will provide connection vaults sufficiently close to serve all lots in town.
Bart (staff member) said the company amended its plan to avoid aerial poles on the west side of town and will route fiber buried under roads or through bores to limit surface disruption. The plan shows vaults placed along shoulders and at service points that will enable residents to pay a lateral connection to bring fiber to individual houses. Bart said the town will not contribute toward Comcast’s installation costs.
The company is using federal funding that Bart characterized as related to the Inflation Reduction Act, which the town said enabled Comcast’s investment. Bart warned the council that the project will require extensive utility-marking (locating) by the town’s water/works crew and that the public-works staff will need as-built plans to coordinate work. Town staff said the contractor intends to place conduits and vaults in shoulder locations rather than run splices or poles across ridgeline views.
Council members and residents raised practical questions about where trenches and vaults would be placed, and staff clarified that vault-to-house lateral installations are typically small trenches that the provider and homeowner arrange; staff said those installs often take an hour or two and are paid by the homeowner. The town will continue to have existing local broadband (Utah Broadband) available for those who do not choose Comcast service.
Bart said he had not received a firm start date at the time of the meeting but expected construction to begin soon. Staff urged residents to expect more frequent blue-staking requests and localized digging around rights-of-way while the project is underway.
