To keep its public fiber-to-the-premises project on track, the city of Lafayette, La., will amend the $110 million bond ordinance created to fund it rather than appeal a recent defeat in court.

Earlier this month, an appellate court ruled that the city’s bond ordinance violated Louisiana’s Local Government Fair Competition Act, which forbids the subsidization of government-provided competitive services with revenue from other, unrelated services. The bond ordinance stipulated that if revenue from fiber services were insufficient to repay the bond, revenue from water and electric utilities could fill the gap.

The ruling was a victory for BellSouth, which has long opposed the city’s plans.

Appealing the case to the state Supreme Court would only delay the fiber project, the city said in a statement issued Tuesday. Instead the city will rewrite the bond ordinance.

Last July, Lafayette residents approved a plan to allow the city’s utility to extend fiber to about 55,000 local homes and businesses.