McLennan County commissioners on Dec. 2 approved a plan to consolidate internet service for county buildings into a single dark‑fiber county network intended to increase bandwidth, provide redundancy and reduce per‑site costs.

John, presenting the item, described the difference between "dark fiber" (a fiber network owned exclusively by the county) and "lit fiber" (shared provider service). He said the dark‑fiber build will give the county greater control over bandwidth and security, increase effective throughput by roughly 30%, add a second Internet entry point to create a redundant ring, and reduce monthly cost compared with current service. Construction to extend fiber to long runs (notably to the juvenile facility and the jail) will involve one‑time construction charges.

John said the sheriff's office agreed to pay approximately $120,000 of one‑time construction costs (to bring fiber to the jail) from its commissary/forfeiture fund so that the county's overall monthly cost will be lower going forward. Staff estimated a roughly six‑month construction period and described the contract as five years with two optional one‑year extensions. Commissioners asked technical and timeline questions and were told routers and encryption would be used between locations to secure traffic.

A motion to approve the countywide dark‑fiber plan and related agreements carried by voice vote. Staff said they recommended the contract and will proceed with the implementation plan.