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Lee County schedules meeting with Surf Broadband after $13M BEAD award; officials warn of potential service disruptions during fiber builds

Lee County Zoning and Planning Committee · November 11, 2025
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Summary

Lee County officials will meet with Surf Broadband after the provider received a major BEAD award for the county; committee members raised concerns that past fiber work has disrupted county services and emergency communications.

Jeremy updated the committee on broadband developments, reporting that Surf Broadband received the largest BEAD award affecting Lee County — roughly $13.1–13.5 million as described in the meeting — and that county officials (Jeremy, transportation staff and the county chair) have a meeting scheduled with the company on the 20th to discuss project scope and local impacts.

"They reached out to myself, Dave, and chairman Olsen, and we have a meeting set with them on the twentieth to discuss their project and what that impact looks like for Lee County," Jeremy said. He described the award as the culmination of nearly two years of county effort to expand connectivity.

Committee members noted that some fiber deployments in the region have caused interruptions to county services. One member said fiber work by vendors has "affected Lee County services" and urged that providers complete installations promptly to avoid further disruption. Another committee member flagged public‑safety implications: "So it's safety, 9 1 1, all that kind of stuff," a participant said, noting past incidents where installs temporarily impaired non‑emergency line quality.

Paul (IT) described steps underway to improve redundancy and resiliency: the county is installing a new fiber connection to the Law Enforcement Center (LEC) and Animal Control and plans to complete the work by December; Reagan Mass Transit will be separated on its own connection, ending prior piggybacking on the county network.

Next steps: the county will meet with Surf Broadband on the 20th to review the project and permitting needs; IT staff will continue infrastructure upgrades intended to improve redundancy and minimize service interruptions.