VIABLE ALTERNATIVES

National Best Practices: Viable Alternatives

Orange County is not the first community to face the disruption caused by competing utility companies digging multiple trenches for fiber optic lines. Across the country, state and local governments have already recognized that uncoordinated trenching is wasteful, disruptive, and unnecessary — and they have adopted practical policies to prevent it.

What “Dig Once” Means

“Dig Once” policies are simple in concept: whenever a street, sidewalk, or easement is opened for fiber or other utilities, the work must be coordinated so that all interested providers install their infrastructure at the same time, or must use shared conduit placed in the ground for future use. Instead of five trenches in five months, there is one trench, one restoration, and far less impact on residents.

Proven Policies in Other States

  • Arizona has statewide “dig once” rules requiring coordination of broadband installation in rights-of-way, with shared conduit for multiple providers.

  • Minnesota mandates coordinated trenching for fiber deployment in public projects, ensuring that broadband expansion does not mean repeated excavation.

  • Utah operates one of the most advanced shared-conduit systems in the country (through UTOPIA Fiber), showing how joint-use infrastructure reduces disruption while still enabling competition among providers.

These policies directly prevent the kind of duplicative, disruptive digging that Orange County residents are now enduring.

Florida’s Partial Steps

Florida has not ignored the issue entirely — but current policies fall short of protecting residential neighborhoods:

  • City of Orlando’s Fiber-Ready Conduit Ordinance (2015): requires new large-scale developments to include empty conduit for future fiber. This ensures that roads and sidewalks don’t need to be repeatedly reopened later.

  • FDOT’s “Future-Ready Corridors” Program: integrates fiber conduit into new highway projects, reducing future costs and disruptions for statewide broadband expansion.

These initiatives show that coordinated planning is possible in Florida. But they focus narrowly on new road construction and major infrastructure projects. They do nothing to stop serial trenching in front yards and small neighborhood streets, where residents are most vulnerable to cumulative disruption.

The Opportunity for Orange County

Orange County has the chance to learn from these proven models. By adopting its own “Dig Once” or shared-conduit policy that applies to residential neighborhoods and private easements, the County could:

  • Protect homeowners from endless excavation and property damage.

  • Preserve neighborhood infrastructure like driveways, sidewalks, and landscaping.

  • Support competition among providers, without forcing each to dig its own trench.

  • Save money long-term, since coordinated trenching and restoration is more efficient than piecemeal projects.