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Council awards contract for Main Street fiber and cameras to Network Controls
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Summary
The council unanimously approved a contract with Network Controls to install fiber optics and 24 360-degree cameras along Main Street, adding dark fiber for future use and connecting municipal facilities to reduce reliance on commercial ISPs; the CIO said leasing would likely be to ISPs rather than to individual downtown businesses.
Anderson City Council unanimously approved a contract award to Network Controls for the Main Street Fiber Project, authorizing subsurface fiber installation timed with planned repaving so the city can support higher-bandwidth security cameras and connect municipal facilities by fiber.
Jason Nissen, the city’s chief information officer, said Network Controls was the lowest bidder among five. "We plan to install 24, 360-degree cameras downtown," Nissen said, adding that the project includes additional dark fiber that could later be leased to internet service providers and would advance the city’s goal of connecting city-owned facilities to fiber to reduce dependency on commercial providers.
Council members asked technical questions about how fiber would connect to nearby streets and about cellular-carrier coverage and building penetration downtown. One council member, drawing on experience in telecommunications, suggested the city reach out to carriers such as Verizon and AT&T to address coverage gaps. Nissen and staff noted other local governments have leased fiber to ISPs and said leasing would likely be structured to a provider rather than offered piecemeal to individual businesses.
Staff explained the subsurface work is being scheduled to occur ahead of repaving to avoid re-opening new pavement and noted previous related projects (including Lindley Park and a prior fiber cut repair) used Network Controls. A motion to award the contract carried by unanimous voice vote.
The contract approval directs staff to finalize the agreement with Network Controls and proceed with subsurface installation as part of the Main Street capital project plan.
