County staff says courthouse fiber installation delayed; alternate carriers being pursued

Wagoner County communications staff reported Aug. 11 that a planned fiber installation to the courthouse has been delayed and that staff is pursuing alternative carriers to complete the work. Mark Ketchum, the county's director of communications, told commissioners the original provider, Vibe, had targeted an initial 90-day installation window but experienced delays related to easement approvals with the City of Wagoner, pushing completion into November or December.

Ketchum said he sought updates after roughly 60 days of limited responses and that conversations with Vibe's operations staff indicated a later timeframe that would not meet the county's needs. He said county staff had asked Vibe for a faster schedule, obtained a cost from Optimum (the county's existing broadband carrier in the courthouse) but found that solution "not a viable solution" for their goals, and had initiated talks with Kinetic to evaluate service offerings and a potential timeline. Ketchum told the board he expected a resolution or a recommended vendor within the following week.

No formal action was taken; commissioners heard the status report and asked staff to continue pursuing options and return with a recommended path forward. The communications director also reported separately that tower lights at the Yonkers site are operational and that a ham-site project approved by commissioners is on the air and being tested.

Provenance

- Topic intro: transcript segment 00:10:03.395–00:10:15.11 (Mark Ketchum presenting fiber update)

- Topic finish: transcript segment 00:11:25.565–00:11:40.80 (Ketchum: will have a solution next week)

Speakers

Mark Ketchum, Director of Communications (first referenced 00:10:03.395)