About a third of the money spent so far on a municipal fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) project in Louisiana has gone to lawyers, according to local media reports.

The city of Lafayette has spent more than $3.5 million so far on the proposed project, according to The Daily Advertiser. Of that sum, nearly $1.18 million went to six law firms.

It’s unknown how much of that money was spent fighting legal challenges from incumbents BellSouth and Cox Communications. City residents voted in 2005 to allow Lafayette Utility Systems to issue $125 million in bonds to fund the project, which would bring fiber directly to some 50,000 homes and 5000 businesses. But incumbent service providers have challenged the project in court. To date, no fiber has been deployed.

City-Parish President Joey Durel told The Advertiser he was “disappointed” by the legal costs but admitted that the fight against incumbents has also generated nationwide publicity for the city’s cause. The cost of fiber access equipment has also dropped while the project has been stalled, he said.

The city is currently awaiting a decision from the state’s Supreme Court on a lawsuit challenging the project.