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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/05/2007 � � Telecommunications Advisory Committee City of Apple Valley March 5, 2007 7:00 P.M. Municipal Center Minutes 1. Call to Order Rollin Bible called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. Members Present: Rollin Bible, Jerry Brown, Scott Hugstad-Vaa, John Magnusson Members Absent: Dale Rodell, David Westbrook Others Present: Charles Grawe, Tucker Carlson, Jay Knauf, Don Banowetz 2. A�proval of A enda Mr. Bible asked for changes to the agenda and there were none offered. MOTION: Mr. Hugstad-Vaa moved, second by Mr. Brown, to approve the agenda as presented. Motion passed 4- 0. 3. A�proval Minutes of December 4, 2006 MOTION: Mr. Hugstad-Vaa moved, second by Mr. Brown, to approve the minutes of December 4, 2006. Motion passed 4- 0. 4. 2006 Annual Committee Report Mr. Grawe distributed the portion of the report generated by Charter Communications. MOTION: Mr. Hugstad-Vaa moved, second by Mr. Brown, to approve the report as presented with the addition of the Charter Communications section. Motion passed 4- 0. 5. l Quarter Complaint Log Mr. Grawe briefly reviewed the complaint log. 6. l Coordinator's Report Mr. Grawe briefly reviewed the report and noted that the staff have been very busy preparing for webcasting and responding to the FCC order. • • 7. E-Commerce and Business Development Issues Frontier Wireless Proposal Mr. Banowetz and Mr. Knauf gave a brief presentation on a proposed wireless netwark in Apple Valley. They said that Frontier has three wireless networks underway at this time including the Cities of Burnsville, Minnesota and Fort Dodge, Iowa. They said that Frontier has found that it is dif�cult to build an entire network out to 100 percent on the front end because the return on the service is more long-range. They said the return on investment for the first phase of the proposed Apple Valley network would likely be at �ve years, instead of the more traditional three years. Under the proposal, Frontier would own, operate, and maintain a wireless network for data services. Frontier is requesting access to City-owned facilities and right-of-way on which to locate infrastructure for the network. Frontier believes the first phase of the network could be deployed and operation by fall of 2007 and that as many as 30 percent of residents might contract for the service within �ve years. They described the wireless service as an additional service for existing high-speed wireless service subscribers. Frontier said the benefit of the agreement to the City is that residents would have the ability to contract for wireless service with Frontier. Frontier requested a multi-year agreement to use the City's facilities. The initial phase of deployment would focus on the downtown area. While the full build-out of the City is not mentioned in the Apple Valley proposal, it is a part of agreements in other cities. The service would be Wi-Fi as not many laptops have Wi-Max 802.16 cards in them at this time. Mr. Brown noted that the Frontier proposal seemed to support formats B and G, but not N. Mr. Banowetz said he would investigate this issue. Mr: Bible said he did not believe the Committee would support an exclusive agreement. Mr. Banowetz said he would talk with others in his corporation about this request. Mr. Bible noted that the City has lease agreements for other users of vertical assets such as water towers. Mr. Banowetz said that Frontier believe that it is providing value to the community by providing the service and thus this value of providing service is provided in exchange for use of vertical assets. Mr. Bible said he is not opposed to a wireless network, but would expect Frontier to lease the City's assets that it uses. He also said he expects a service would be offered to all residents in the City, not just a neighborhood ar particular district. He also said he understood the need to phase the installation. Mr. Bible said he would recommend continued negotiation with staff, but would not be willing to offer any recommendation on the proposal at this time. Mr. Banowetz said that if the negotiation process takes several months or mare, Frontier might look to build in another city. Mr. Bible said the mission of the City is to look out for the best interest of its citizens. As such, he would not make a recommendation until more details have been determined. Mr. Carlson noted that Frontier has access to the right-of-way already and could negotiate with Dakota Electric for space on vertical assets and thus questioned Frontier's need for an agreement with the City. Mr. Banowetz said he believes a partnership with the City would be enough to construct the network. � • Mr. Bible asked if Frontier had an estimation for the demand for the wireless broadband services. Mr. Banowetz said it would be similar to cell phone service where in the early years of the that technology, build-outs started in small areas and expanded. Mr. Brown asked what the pricing for the service would be. Mr. Banowetz said the service would be an additional $10 per month for existing wired broadband customers and $49 per month for non-wired broadband customers. Mr. Bible encouraged Frontier to continue to work with City staff on the issue. 8. Adj ourn MOTION: Mr. Brown moved, second by Mr. Hugstad-Vaa to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed 4- 0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:59 p.m.