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City to consider Forge Fiber franchise next week after company answers council questions
Summary
Forge Fiber (AT&T subsidiary) representatives told the council they acquired Sentry Link assets and plan to expand fiber service; council asked for local contact commitments and better coordination on new‑development trench notifications and placed the franchise agreement on next week's consent agenda.
Representatives from Forge Fiber (an AT&T subsidiary) answered council questions about the company's purchase of Lumen/Sentry Link assets and its plans in Cedar City.
Phil Hammond said Forge Fiber will leverage existing Sentry conduit where possible, pull fiber into available conduit, and overbuild where needed to expand service. He described directional drilling as the preferred method, with trenching only where bedrock or conditions require it.
Council members pressed for a local response plan for construction coordination and for a local point of contact so public works and developers can resolve daytime trenching and service issues quickly. Councilman Phillips described past difficulties reaching the former provider during outages and said he wants an on‑the‑ground contact for new projects.
Hammond said AT&T is investing heavily in fiber nationally and is recruiting field staff for Utah; he also said Forge Fiber will follow required permitting and pole‑attachment processes and will coordinate with the city on boulevard and trenching impacts. The council voted to place the franchise agreement on next week's consent agenda for final action.
What happens next: Forge Fiber will provide staff with contact information and continue coordination with city engineering and permitting to finalize a franchise agreement for council vote next week.
