Charter outlines fiber build in Polk County; commissioners press company on connections and right-of-way

Charter Communications presented an update to the Polk County Board of Commissioners on April 14, saying the company has expanded fiber in the county and plans more work in 2026.

Chris Madden, director of state government affairs for Charter (Spectrum), told the board that over the past two years (2024–2025) the company added more than 2,500 "passings" in Polk County (excluding the city of Dallas) and deployed nearly 500,000 feet of fiber. He said Charter plans just under 300 additional passings in 2026, with more than 100,000 feet of fiber and a fully redundant fiber path intended to improve resiliency and reduce customer downtime.

Commissioners pressed Madden for more detail about how many of those passings represent active customer connections and where the work occurred. A commissioner who spoke throughout the questioning and was later identified in the record as Commissioner Pope asked whether the 2,500 figure was primarily rural and requested a breakdown of urban versus rural passings. Madden said the count excludes Dallas and "I would assume [the] vast majority of those would be in the rural areas," and clarified that a "passing" indicates service is available to an address, not necessarily that a resident has subscribed.

When asked for the number of actual connections made in the last two years, Madden said he was limited in what he could share in the public meeting and declined to provide a connection count in that setting, but he committed to follow up outside the meeting.

The commissioners also raised complaints about construction practices and communication. Commissioner Pope described reports of crews trenching adjacent to paved and gravel roads, unmarked vans working on private property and instances where field personnel could not communicate with non-English-speaking residents. "You guys are ghosts to us," the commissioner said, urging clearer advance notice and better right-of-way practices.

Madden acknowledged those concerns, said he is the county contact and apologized for gaps in communication: "I apologize you have not heard from us. That's unacceptable. I'm now your contact. Morgan has my contact information. I'm happy to share that with you," he said, and committed to follow up on right-of-way issues and service problems.

Commissioners asked whether Charter intends to serve community anchor institutions that county data showed as not currently served, naming Polk County Fire District 1 (Buena Vista), a King's Valley site and Chemeketa Community College at Oaks Ferry. Madden said he would follow up to confirm service availability at those sites.

On the timing of any franchise agreement extension, Madden said Charter's current franchise agreement expires in October and the company seeks to be proactive about renewal well before that date.

The presentation closed with Madden offering to provide further detail outside the public meeting; the board then continued to other business.

Ending: The board did not take a formal vote related to the franchise agreement during the meeting; commissioners instructed staff and the company to follow up on the outstanding questions about active connections, right-of-way placement and service to anchor institutions.