Lady Lake leaders consider possibility of fiber optic line to make town more competitive

Lady Lake leaders are mulling the possibility of taking advantage of the expected widening of U.S. Hwy. 27/441 and putting down a fiber optic line.

“An opportunity exists to begin building this network at a considerable cost savings,” Town of Lady Lake IT Director John Pearl told Lady Lake commissioners in a special session Monday.

If built, the fiber optic network could bring high-quality bandwidth services to businesses in Lady Lake, Pearl said. That could help build a more diversified local economy, he added.

However, the project could be costly, a fact that was not lost on the commissioners.

Pearl advocated closely studying similar area projects and weighing both their successes and failures.

“If approved, this plan would enable the town to budget to begin construction in the next fiscal year,” Pearl said.

The network could attract businesses, commissioners acknowledged.

“It’s the future and it could make us very competitive,” said Commissioner Paul Hannan.

The commissioners agreed to schedule a workshop to discuss the idea.