(a) The purpose and intent of this section is to provide for the installation, construction, maintenance and operation of a hybrid fiber optic/coaxial communication network as a portion of the Cable System serving the City which shall be designated principally for the provision of non-commercial services to public schools, public libraries and other municipal governmental facilities and agencies separate and distinct from the Subscriber network, or unsecured channels of Subscriber network, referred to herein as an Institutional Network. The City Council finds and determines that the services of such an Institutional Network, as more fully described in this section, are reasonably required to meet community needs, taking into account the cost of meeting such needs. In order to meet those community needs, a Franchise Agreement shall require a Franchisee to contribute either specified goods and services and/or a specified sum of money to provide facilities, equipment, maintenance and operation of an Institutional Network in the City. The City Council also finds and determines that it is of significant value in the furtherance of the community's needs to provide a system connecting the Institutional Network with other dedicated fiber limited access institutional networks serving other communities for non-commercial audio, video and data transmissions (“Regional Institutional Network”).
(b) Where a Franchise Agreement provides for a Grantee to construct and install an Institutional Network, such Agreement shall require at a minimum that such Grantee shall, at its cost, make available at identified locations inside exterior walls of the public facilities to be set forth in an Exhibit to the Franchise Agreement ("Sites") two (2) fibers, in each case with approximately fifty (50) feet of additional fiber extending inside each facility, provided that, where it is necessary to construct a portion of the Institutional Network underground on the premises of a particular site, the governmental entity owning or controlling such site shall bear the cost of such underground construction, except for the cost of providing and laying the fibers. Any interior or exterior wiring or equipment in addition to that set forth above necessary to utilize the Institutional Network shall not be at the cost of the Grantee constructing the Institutional Network, except as may otherwise be provided in a Franchise Agreement. Use of the fibers provided by a Grantee pursuant to this section will be limited to non-commercial audio, video and data transmissions between and among the Sites and Sites on the Regional Institutional Network. There shall be no cost to Grantor or the other governmental entities connected to the Institutional Network for the use and maintenance of the Institutional Network within the Franchise area.
(c) A Grantee providing an Institutional Network shall connect the Institutional Network to other institutional networks located within the boundaries of other governmental entities in which such Grantee has a franchise within the Regional Institutional Network. All costs associated with the construction of such an interconnection shall not be the responsibility of the Grantee providing the Institutional Network, except as may otherwise be provided in a Franchise Agreement. A Grantee providing the Institutional Network and other cable operators providing institutional networks in other franchise areas within the Regional Institutional Network may charge a reasonable fee for the use of the Regional Institutional Network by those governmental entities using the Institutional Network for audio, video and data transmissions outside of the Franchise area.
(d) The Grantor may request a Grantee to begin negotiations to interconnect its Institutional Network with any other contiguous and compatible institutional networks provided by other cable operators for the purpose of providing non-commercial audio, video and data transmissions between governmental entities within the Regional Institutional Network. Upon receiving such a request from the Grantor, the Grantee shall initiate negotiations with such other cable systems, and shall report to the Grantor the results of such negotiations no later than ninety (90) days after receipt of the request. Such Grantee shall not be required to provide such interconnection unless the costs thereof are assumed by others.
(e) If any of the Sites have existing networks at the time of the construction of the Institutional Network, service on such existing networks shall not be unreasonably interrupted during the build of the new Institutional Network.
(Ord. 1998-268. Passed 12-21-98.)