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Board questions whether buried cable is fiber; staff say provider represents it as optical, will verify
Summary
Montgomery County EDA received a broadband update: franchise agreements are progressing, AEP has about 29 poles left to address, and the board pressed staff on whether buried lines are optical fiber or high‑frequency coax; staff said the provider reports the system is fiber and committed to follow up with a field check and invoice review.
The board discussed broadband deployment progress and the technical question of whether the buried distribution cable is optical fiber or high‑frequency coax.
Speaker 5 reported that Christiansburg approved a franchise agreement and Blacksburg had the agreement scheduled for March 10. He said segment construction is complete and splicing remains; AEP has about 29 distribution poles left. He described marketed speed packages including 1 Gbps and 2 Gbps and noted the network has capacity for higher speeds.
Speaker 1 raised a technical concern after inspecting buried cable in the field: he said the cable looked like high‑frequency coax, that he “didn’t see any glass anywhere,” and that he started to cut a piece before deciding not to remove it. Staff (Speakers 5 and 6) replied that the provider represents the installation as optical fiber for grant reimbursement and that their field checks had shown fiber strands in spliced samples; they agreed to follow up offline with a physical field verification and a review of invoices and splice records to confirm what will be reimbursed.
The exchange did not resolve the question in the meeting; staff will confirm the cable type and report back to the board.
