State trades right-of-way for fiber optic links

Brendan Riley

Thursday, Oct. 14, 1999 | 9:47 a.m.

CARSON CITY - The state Board of Examiners has approved a contract that would give Nevada at least $5 million worth of fiber optic cable use in exchange for right-of-way access.

The network, providing a range of data, voice, video and Internet services, is designed ultimately to link 125 American cities. Williams Communications, of Tulsa, Okla., plans to complete the 32,000-mile system in 2000.

The deal approved Wednesday by the Board of Examiners, chaired by Gov. Kenny Guinn, allows Williams to use state right-of-way along Interstate 80 for its underground cable. In exchange, the state can tie into the line at different points.

Jim Polito of the state Department of Information Technology said the contract will allow for a 10-fold increase in the state's ability to transmit information over fiber optic lines.

Williams Communications has made similar deals in other states.

The contract was one of more than 100 approved by the Board of Examiners - including three that will allow the Department of Information Technology to spend up to $6.5 million on computer consultants.

One of the contracts, for up to $2.5 million, is with IBM Global Services, the business giant hired in 1992 to develop Nevada's problem-plagued NOMADS computer system.

NOMADS, born after a 1988 federal law required states to have a single system for child-support enforcement, is an acronym for Nevada Operations Multi Automated Data Systems.

NOMADS began with a $22.6 million budget several years ago. Its costs have ballooned to nearly $90 million, and will exceed $100 million when done.