NextLink says Lampasas fiber project 76% complete, outlines phases to finish build

NextLink representative Chris Hoffman told the Lampasas mayor and council on April 16 that the company's fiber-to-the-home project in the city has reached roughly 76% completion and about 60 miles of network.

Hoffman said NextLink has prioritized redundancy after single-line fiber outages caused broad service interruptions: “Whenever a fiber line gets cut, it kinda takes down all of the surface,” he said, adding the company finished an independent second fiber route into Lampasas in October 2023 so one circuit can keep traffic flowing if the other is damaged. "Since we got that completed in October, it's been a real blessing to have," he said.

Hoffman walked council through a phased build plan and maps identifying neighborhoods included in phases 5–8, and described a tentative restart in the third or fourth quarter to finish the remaining areas. He said phase 5 includes southern and eastern portions of town and the Business Park corridor, with later phases covering Hillcrest, Eastland, North Lampasas and the golf course area toward Naruna Road and Diamond Ridge.

The presenter also described operations details: NextLink has been working with one dedicated crew at a steady pace, and said the company will scale to a "triple build" when it restarts construction to avoid overwhelming local services. Hoffman said NextLink has used a mix of fiber and wireless redundancy to keep customers online during cuts and that additional crews or contractors can be added to handle installation backlogs when needed.

Why it matters: Lampasas city officials and residents have cited internet reliability and capacity as priorities for economic development, education and emergency communications. The build would bring fiber directly to homes and businesses throughout the city limits, and the redundant route is intended to limit outages caused by a single cut.

Hoffman invited questions and told the council NextLink will remain locally staffed: “This is a marriage and we will be here…5 years, 20 years from now,” he said. He also reviewed the project timeline metrics shown to council — neighborhood route miles, households passed and percentage complete — and noted the company expects to finish the remaining phases next year if the schedule holds.

The council did not take formal action on the presentation; staff and NextLink will continue coordination on permits, design details and the build schedule.