Dallas County says broadband dark‑fiber project is on schedule; awaits BEAD awards and ISP enablement
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Summary
County broadband officials reported milestone progress on a dark‑fiber ring with Zayo and on-time, on-budget work; they said BEAD awards are pending (Texas submitted a $3.3 billion plan) and that Zayo must secure ISP enablement (about $4 million in contract value), with maps and award details to follow within roughly 90 days.
Dallas County staff briefed the Commissioners Court on the county broadband project, reporting the program is on schedule and on budget and that construction milestones are being reached.
The county’s broadband lead told the court that milestone 3 — connecting roughly a third of the county sites to the planned fiber ring — has been verified and processed for payment and that Zayo has completed much of the between‑site construction. "We're at a point where Zayo has done a lot of the construction and so we'll start seeing these milestones get hit very quickly," the broadband lead said.
County staff discussed digital equity and ISP enablement components of the project. They noted the U.S. BEAD program and state decisions remain pending; Texas’ BEAD allocation was described as $3,300,000,000 submitted in a statewide plan. Staff said that a portion of Zayo’s contract (about $4,000,000) is tied to ISP enablement work that will encourage affordable service offerings and that the county has contractual protections to preserve affordability commitments.
Commissioners pressed for maps and lists showing where project benefits and distributed computers or classes have been delivered; staff said they expect BEAD award announcements in around 90 days and will publish maps after awards are finalized. The court did not approve new BEAD-related spending at the hearing; staff said milestone payments for construction are under processing and that digital-equity activities are underway.
