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Jefferson County delays final acceptance of Liberty Communications broadband work, asks provider for coverage maps and documentation
Summary
County supervisors pressed Liberty Communications for evidence of rural coverage after residents said prior provider service was cut; the board asked the company to return with maps and a certificate of completion before approving final payment on a $500,000 ARPA-funded buildout.
Jefferson County supervisors on Jan. 5 asked Liberty Communications to provide maps and documentation showing which addresses in the county the company can now serve before the board completes final acceptance of a county broadband grant project. The board had previously allocated about $500,000 in ARPA funds and set aside $100,000 for nonstandard installations.
The request followed a lengthy update from Andy Nader of Liberty Communications and several residents who said service they previously received had been discontinued. "By the time people got door hangers, we've been trying to reach people for a long time," Nader said, describing efforts to identify and reconcile customers who had been served through prior, informal arrangements. Resident Sean Morrissey told the board his household received a 24-hour notice that Natel service would end: "...someone put something on our door that said you're no longer gonna get Natel," Morrissey said.
Why it matters: the county used ARPA funding to subsidize broadband infrastructure to expand service to rural addresses. Supervisors said they must be able to explain to constituents why service is or is not available at specific rural addresses and requested concrete evidence that the project meets contract terms before approving final payment.
What the board asked for: supervisors asked Liberty to deliver (1) a GIS-based coverage map showing areas already built and addresses that remain unserved, (2) a certificate of completion tied to the contract milestones, and (3) documentation about nonstandard installations and any customers informed that service would be discontinued. "I would like for you to come back with what coverage you have done in the county," said a supervisor directing the request.
Liberty's response and next steps: Nader said the company had spent part of the $100,000 earmarked for nonstandard installations and had erected towers where necessary; he acknowledged pockets of creative service delivery under the previous vendor (Natel) that made record-keeping difficult. Nader agreed to work with his GIS engineers and bring maps and a certificate to the board at a follow-up meeting. The board deferred final payment and acceptance pending that information.
Context and numbers: the contract language the supervisors reviewed includes a commitment to provide service at the physical-address level and to reserve up to $2,500 per customer for nonstandard installation costs. Nader told the board Liberty had used roughly $2,000 per tower for some of the outreach and said fixed wireless delivery typically cannot reach every parcel due to terrain or prior informal relays of service.
What happens next: Liberty Communications will return to a subsequent meeting with the requested maps and a certificate of completion. Supervisors said they will not represent the project as "complete" to residents until they can verify coverage for addresses that asked why service was discontinued.
Representative quotations from the meeting are drawn from public remarks by company and community participants.
