LightSpeed Returning to Installations in Tamarisk - UPDATED

Disclosure: LightSpeed is an ELi sponsor.

Update, October 28: According to Jason Schreiber and Tim Lebel of LightSpeed, the issues that delayed installation of LightSpeed fiber optic internet service in the Tamarisk neighborhood (as described below) have been resolved. City engineers came out and observed LightSpeed’s approach to installation for this area, which has underground utilities that need to cross under City sidewalks, and was satisfied with the company’s approach. The expectation is that those who ordered service there will all be connected within the next two weeks.

The following was originally published on October 18, 2018:

LightSpeed is coming back to the Tamarisk neighborhood to finish a job that has been stalled for several months. It looks like the issues between East Lansing’s Department of Public Works and the fiber optic internet provider have now been worked out, and residents there who have ordered the service will soon be connected.

A month ago, ELi was contacted by a regular reader who asked if we could find out what was going on, since work had started in Tamarisk in the spring and stopped in the summer. The issue simultaneously came up at September’s Council of Neighborhood Presidents meeting, where it was reported that LightSpeed had pulled out of Tamarisk and moved on to the Hawk Nest neighborhood.

At that meeting, Tamarisk Neighborhood Association President Pat Wolf asked other neighborhood representatives what their experience had been with LightSpeed installation and service. Those who responded reported only positive experiences with the service. Some said they use LightSpeed not only for internet, but also for internet-based phone service and Roku TV (a substitute for cable TV), using the East Lansing company’s service to replace national providers like Comcast.

As a consequence of the questions about what was going on in Tamarisk, we got in touch with Jason Schreiber, CEO of LightSpeed, and Scott House, Director of Public Works (DPW) for East Lansing. Here’s what we learned:

On August 11, a resident of the Tamarisk neighborhood who had not signed up for service came home from a trip to find parts of his lawn and parkway – the grassy strip between the sidewalk and the curb – torn up for installation of underground fiber optic lines. Unsure why this had happened and unhappy, he contacted LightSpeed and also contacted Mayor Pro Tem Erik Altmann with complaints. (Mayor Mark Meadows was abroad, and Altmann was Acting Mayor.)

On August 11, LightSpeed staff answered that homeowner within seven minutes of his contacting them, and assured him in follow-up communication that restoration would occur appropriately. The work had been done only the day before, and LightSpeed’s permit allowed them several weeks to do the restoration.

Altmann then showed up on August 12 to talk to the resident in person, and, according to the homeowner, shared the concerns. Shortly after that, DPW staff showed up to write citations on the project.

When Pat Wolf (the neighborhood president) suggested at the neighborhood presidents’ meeting that Altmann had called DPW in, Altmann strongly rejected that claim. (Altmann has not responded to ELi’s request for comment.)

Knowing the unhappy homeowner had asked for Altmann’s help, Schreiber contacted Altmann to try to explain how the concerns would be addressed. After having tried Altmann three times with no response, Schreiber felt there was a “lack of city support,” particularly from Altmann.

LightSpeed finally decided to just pull out of the area and move to a neighborhood where installation could be done without these problems. That meant moving on to Hawk Nest.

In talking to ELi about the decision to pull out, Schreiber emphasized that his company seeks to maintain excellent customer relations, and suggested that that had become effectively impossible in the case of the Tamarisk installation.

Schreiber was particularly frustrated that his company was being wrongly accused of possible safety violations when his crew had discovered, in their work, an ongoing Consumers Energy gas leak and had appropriately reported the danger. He notes that some of the damage the complainant was seeing was from Consumers Energy trucks that had to come in to deal with the gas leak.

In looking into this, ELi found many reports of Tamarisk residents wanting LightSpeed to come back and finish the job, and could only locate one person objecting, namely the person who contacted Altmann.

On October 11, following repeated inquiries about the matter from ELi, Schreiber, DWP Director Scott House, and their colleagues sat down in person to work out the concerns. Schreiber tells ELi that, as a consequence of ELi pushing the issue to get our reader an answer, the City and LightSpeed have come to an agreement about how to facilitate completion of the work.

This will include City engineers actively observing the approach being used by LightSpeed, in order to ensure that the method does not damage City property or cause any safety concerns.

Says Schreiber, “Assuming they approve our methods, we should be able to begin connecting Tamarisk homes in November. Prior to moving forward with future neighborhoods, we have a plan to meet again and establish a better line of communication between all stakeholders.”

He says, in summary, that it “appears we’re heading in the right direction.”

Yesterday evening, we let the reader who contacted us know about the resolution. He answered, "this is great news. Thank you for all your hard work. I am in the Pinecrest neighborhood [next to Tamarisk] and I do hope they start there soon."

This is part of our regular Ask ELi to Investigate series. If you have something you’d like us to investigate, contact us!

Photo shows a LightSpeed installation in the Bailey neighborhood.