Title
Contract for General Services, Agreement No. AGR 24-46b with Bonfire Fiber LLC in the Amount of $15,900,000, plus Applicable Gross Receipts Tax, for the Purpose of Managing the Fiber-to-the-Premise Open Access Network
Recommended Action
I move that Council approve Contract for General Services, Agreement No. AGR 24-46b with Bonfire Fiber LLC in the Amount of $15,900,000, plus Applicable Gross Receipts Tax, for the Purpose of managing the Fiber-to-the-Premise open access network.
County Manager's Recommendation
The County Manager recommends that Council approve this Contract for General Services as requested.
Body
Staff will present details about this operating agreement to manage the Community Broadband Network (CBN) in a combined presentation included with AGR24-46a. Once the CBN infrastructure is up and running, the system will be managed by a third-party operator with experience in providing network operating services. This model of service delivery has become an industry standard in this market place. The third-party network operator also works directly with the Internet Service providers (IPSs) that provide the service to the customers. The idea is to encourage multiple ISPs with varying service levels at competitive prices.
It is anticipated that residential rates will range from $50 to $100 per month for 250 Mbps to 50 Gbps service speeds. It is anticipated business rates will range $75 to $240 per month for 250 Mbps to 50 Gbps service speeds.
The County will receive a $10 per month Network Infrastructure Fee to reinvest in system expansion, major asset repairs and replacement after its 30 or 40 year expected useful life of the infrastructure.
Alternatives
Council could choose not to award the agreement and provide alternate direction for operating the CBN. This agreement should not be awarded if AGR24-46a for designing and building the open access network infrastructure is not awarded.
Fiscal and Staff Impact/Planned Item
Funding for...
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