Gregg County commissioners OK Sparklight's fiber

Sep 02, 2023

Sparklight has been given a green light by Gregg County commissioners to extend its fiber-optic cable-laying operations into parts of the county.

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Sparklight has a green light to extend its fiber-optic cable-laying operations into parts of Gregg County.

Gregg County commissioners unanimously voted Monday in favor of allowing the provider to install aerial and underground fiber optic cables at several locations in Pcts. 1 and 3. Pct. 1 includes part of the city of Longview and extends to its north and east. Pct. 3 includes part of Kilgore along with Gladewater, White Oak and Liberty City.

Sparklight's request primarily involved locations in Pct. 1, including streets off Sam Page, Airline and Tryon roads and in the Hunters Creek subdivision.

In 2020, the Phoenix-based broadband communications provider began building its all fiber-optic network in Longview.

During Monday's meeting, Pct. 1 Commissioner Ronnie McKinney voiced a concern about the installation to Harry McMahan, maintenance director for Gregg County. McKinney asked McMahan if installation crews are going to label the cables that are fiber optic.

"All you have to do is get ahold of (the cable) one time and rip it up and you’ll find out what the cost on it is, and that scares the devil out of me," McKinney said.

According to McKinney, the cost to repair a damaged fiber-optic cable ranges anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000 and sometimes higher. McKinney told McMahan that he wants crews to adequately label the cables to better assist any future maintenance.

"It just gives us a better understanding ... We’re out there a year from now. We forget about it ... I wish they would put on it it's fiber optic. They have not been doing so," McKinney said.

McMahan assured the commissioner he would require crews to do so going forward. Since the project is still pending approval from the Texas Department of Transportation, McMahan said there would be time to implement the change on this and other Sparklight projects.

County Judge Bill Stoudt said the provider is doing the project on its own and is not connected with any county funds or grants. Stoudt added that the county would consider using federal relief funding to try to "fill in" some of the spaces where Sparklight is not covering — specifically more rural areas.

"(Sparklight is) getting into some of the rural area, but we’re talking about making a ring around the county ... That way it’ll be a complete loop outside of the rural area but inside of the county," he said.

Stoudt said he expects some redundancy regarding internet access in the area with more providers "wanting a piece of the action."

"There's nobody in the state of Texas who's doing regulation of this, so everybody is trying to get in there," Stoudt said.

The East Texas Council of Governments is working on a project began in 2019 to develop a rural broadband plan for Gregg and other counties in the region.

Sparklight submitted a lengthy list of locations it plans to install aerial and underground fiber-optic cable in Gregg County. The request includes:

Precinct 1

Precinct 3:

I'm Yoleyne Romero and my beat includes city/county government. I'm a graduate from The University of Texas at Tyler with a Bachelor's degree in Mass Communication. I have a dog named Okami that provides endless sunshine in my life.