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April 20, 2000 (2)
Please Note: Oar phone numbers have changed. The new general number is 706-3600. MEETING OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 7:00 PM, THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2000 CITY HALL CONP'ERENCF, ROOM Please contact Shelley at 706-3614 if you are unable to attend. AGENDA: 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of March 16,2000 4. Old Business a. Chamlel Check b. Correspondence Log and Company Follow Up on Complaiuts- c. Extension Deadline for Additional Annual Report Items d. Other Old Business 5. New Business a. Request for a Franchise by Wide Open West - (WOW) b. Presentation by Chris Julian, VP Market Development, Wide Open West c. Notice of Intent to Franchise d. Competitive Franchise Procedures e. MALTA Legislative Issues Luncheon f. Other New Business 6. Reports a. Report of Commissioners Assigned to Access Channels: Educational Access--Dennis Stroik; Library Access-Ruth Graham; Religious Access- ;Government Access--Ken Henke; Public Access--Reuben Ruen b. Report of MediaOne- March 2000 Reports --Programs Produced --Installation and Service Activity Report --Current Chamlel Line Up and Service Charges c. Report of the Cable Attorney -Legislative Update d. Report of the Assistant to the City Manager 7. Adjournment Attachments The City mf Cohnnbia Heights does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admission or access to, m• treatment or employment in, its services, programs, m• activities. Upun request, acconnnodation will be provided to allmv individuals with disabilities to participate in all City of Columbia Heights' services, programs, and activities. Ai~liary aids for handicapped persmis arc available npmi request when the request is made at least 96 lmnrs in advance. Please call the City Conmcil Secretary at 706-3611, to make arrangements. (TDD 706-3692 For deaf or hcaruig hnpatred roily) THE MINUTES OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION FROM TI-IURSDAY, MARCI-I 16, 2000 The meeting was called to order at 7:03 p.m. by Dennis Sh•oik, Chairperson. ROLL CALL: Commission Members: Council Representative: City Representative: Cable TV Representative: Legal Counsel: Dennis Stroik, Ken Henke, Dan Swee, Bradley Peterson, Ruth Graham, and Reuben Ruen Julienne Wyckoff Jean Kuehn Kathi Donnelly-Cohen Steve Guzzetta Also in attendance were Jay Gustafson and Nathan Schmidt, residents of Columbia Heights. INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBER Bradley Peterson was inhroduced. I-Ie has been appointed to the Telecommunications Commission with a term expiring April 1, 2002. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Ken I-Ienke ,seconded by Ruth Graham, to approve the minutes from the meeting of February 17, 2000. All ayes. OLD BUSINESS A. Channel Check Everything checked out olc. B. Correspondence Log and Complaint Follow Up. No formal complaints were received, but Dennis Stroik reported that D.J. Murzyn at 1300 Lincoln Terrace objects to the process one must go tluough when needing service. He felt he had to go tlu'ough too many people to get a problem resolved. Kathi will follow up on this. 2. Dan Swee had received a complaint from Allen Askegard at 4334 McLeod regarding the phone service offered by Cable. It took five installers to hook up the service, the line was full of static and inoperable 80% of the time. He has since canceled the service and returned to US West 3. Ken IIenke indicated one of his renters had a similar problem, but it was resolved in one day. C. Merger Update Brochure for February 2000 The brochure was enclosed in the agenda packet for the commissioners to review. Kathi Donnelly-Cohen indicated the merger should be complete by the beginning of the 2"" quarter. D. Other Old Business There was no other old business. TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES MEETING OF MARCH 16, 2000 PAGE 2 NEW BUSINESS A. Presentation on Metricom's Ricochet System and Use of Right of Way Agreement ,Bob Bttell Mr. Buell, of Buell Consulting, presented information about Meh•icom's 14 year history in Los Gatos, CA. Meh•icom is requesting "right of way" access in our city for the purpose of installing radio transmitters capable of serving as a wireless Internet Service Provider. This is not for cell phone service. Agreements are being negotiated with 75 cities in the 7 county meri•opolitan area with the hope of building their transmission area in the fourth quarter of 2000. The units to be installed on the poles or wires were displayed (they are slightly larger than a shoe box). The attachment for the individual computers are the size of a thin paperback novel. Al' transmitter units are white, and must be white, so as to reflect the sun's heat and avoid flying the internal components. Questions from members with Mt•. Buell's responses: -What would be the operation speed. The system would provide a speed of 128K. - IIow many transmitters would be needed in Columbia Heights? On average 7 units per square mile are required for full coverage. -What frequency is used'? 900 Megahertz range, but since the signal is pocketed and pulsed the interference is minimal. Buell explained the frequency is unlicensed, but not unregulated. He stated that the equipment is FCC approved. -What assm'ance would amateur radio operators have that the interference would not be a problem? Buell did not think it had been a problem in the areas currently served by Meh•icom. -What is the reliability factor of this system- downtime or busy factor? Buell stated that system had experienced very little down time and was very reliable. -Who would do the repairs should individual transmitter or dozens of them be damaged? Metricom has an office in Edina and would subcontract with NSP or others to install and repair equipment. Mr. Buell explained that radios are usually replaced, not repaired. The radios are monitored nationwide on an hourly basis, so Metricom knows within an hour if a radio goes down. Mr. Buell stated that he personally has no experience with the system and he has never used it, or even seen it in operation. He thought it may have been used at the Minneapolis Airport for a time, but did not know the current status. The specific agreement proposed by Metricom was discussed at length. Buell stressed that Metricom wanted/needed the agreements with all of the 75 cities to be the same, and he felt it was a very generous offer since the inconvenience and maintenance required of the city would be minimal, if not zero. He stated that the city would receive an initial fee for the installation, plus up to $1,000 to cover legal fees, with an ongoing annual payment of 1% of the gross receipts of the subscribers within the city. Buell said that the contract offered was in complete agreement with Right of Way rules as defined by the PUC and the city really had very little authority in this area. Steve Guzzeta clarified that the PUC Right of Way regulations were specific to Telecommunication services and since Metricom is clearly an Internet Service Provider and not a cable or phone service, the rules Buell referred to were not applicable Co Metricom. He also questioned how "generous" the offer really was, and named two cities out east that had received not the 1 % being offered, but 3% and 5% respectively, and therefore, all the contracts are not identical. Buell was adamant that no changes in the contract language would be acceptable to Metricom. However, Guzzetta stated that he and other members of his office had been in direct contact with Max Thompson, Marketing Representative for Metricom, and Joe Condo, Regional in-house legal counsel for Metricom, and specific changes had been agreed to. Steve presented the city with a copy of the current changes accepted by Metricom, as well as a fax between the Spring Lake Park attorney, Jeff Carson and Bernick and Lifson, regarding similar contract language concerns. TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES MEETING OP MARCH 16, 2000 PAGE3 Steve advised the commission to give conditional approval, pending the final results of our attorney's efforts on the following issues: - abandonment language, performance bond, free subscriptions meaningless without modems, and a clarification of the scope of the authorization Motion by Ken IIenke, seconded by Dan Swee, that the Telecommunications Commission recommends the City Council approve a right of way agreement with Metricom, as recommended by our legal counsel, once the details are worked out between Meh~icom and our legal counsel. All ayes. B. MediaOne's Notification to Customers to Convert from Old Packages to New Packages Letters sent to customers still subscribing to old packages were enclosed in the agenda packets. The subscribers were informed they will need to choose a current package as MediaOne is striving to make billing more consistent. Kathi indicated that in addition to the letters each person is being contacted by a customer service representative to help walk them though the necessary changes. C. 1999 Annual Report Receipt of the Annual Report was acknowledged, with no official acceptance until the subscriber survey results are received. D. Subscriber Survey A copy of the old survey was enclosed in the agenda packets along with a copy of the survey Kathi would like to do over the internet. The commission reviewed the survey and made suggestions for changes/improvements. Kathi understood that the internet method of doing survey was purely a "trial" and dependent on the number of respondents for auy future use of this media. The City Manager had agreed to extend the deadline to May 1. Kathi is now requesting a June 1 completion date be approved. Motion by Ken Henke, seconded by Ruth Graham to instruct Kathi to proceed with the subscriber survey and extend the deadline to June 1, 2000 for the Annual Report completion. E. Other New Business Dennis requested that the CSO's be used to deliver the Multi-Channel News to him since it is so expensive to mail. REPORTS A. Report of Commissioners No reports. TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES MEETING OP MARCH 16, 2000 PAGE 4 B. Report of MediaOne- Kathi reviewed the reports that were included in the agenda packets as well as the information passed out at the meeting. Kathi stated that since the attorneys were still working on the legal details, she could provide copies of the monthly subscriber data to the commission, but it was not to be shared or discussed since the discussion would be part of the public record. "Wide Open West" is an overbuildet• who are positioned to begin expanding into this market area. A franchise would be required for them to operate, as they offer essentially the same services as MediaOne. Cable theft was discovered on a major level in Eagan and arrests have been made. The Media One theft squad is actively checking suspected thefts, and generally uncover nine per week, tluough the 1-800 number and their own investigations. C. Report of the Cable Attorney The legislature has been active, and both Media One and the Commission's Cable Attorney have been lobbying at the state capital to prevent the PUC from allowing open access, sometimes referred to as Forced access . `fhe PUC glossed over the issue, for now. The franchise fee audit is in process. This will take several months to complete. WOW (Wide open West) is contemplating moving into this market area. They are currently active in Colorado, California, and Texas. When they begin an overbuild, it is with a speed according to market demand. D. Report of the Special Projects Coordinator The Website is being reviewed by division/department heads and we are still optimistic for the site to be up and running by the end of March, 2000. The site address will be ci.colwnbia-heiglrts.mn.ns Motion by Ruth Graham , seconded by Ken Henke , to adjourn the meeting at 9:12 pm. All ayes. Respectfully submitted, can Kuelm Secretary Pro-Tern ~~ 10475 Park Meadows Drive ~, ~ r ,~ 1 ~ b ~ Suite 600 ,~, ~ ~ ~.. ~~ ~ ~;' ~.; ~ uF Littleton, CO 80124 t ~ ~~~ ~.. <- ~,~~, Delivering Competitive, High-Bandwidth Open Access Internet and Cable Television to Residential Customers Apri14, 2000 Linda McGee City of Columbia Heights 590 40°i Avenue N.E. Columbia Heights, MN 55421-3878 Re: Request for Franchise >;y WideOpenWest Minnesota, LLC Dear Ms. McGee On behalf of WideOpenWest, I am writing to request the issuance to WideOpenWest of a franchise by the City of Columbia Heights. This letter will confirm that it is the intention of WideOpenWest to provide commitments to and regulatory oversight by the City of Columbia Heights equivalent to that governing the existing, incumbent franchisee in the City of Columbia Heights. In that regard, we anticipate a "level playing field" relationship. Obviously, there will be some areas, such as institutional network and access, where the contribution of WideOpenWest should be equitably allocated on a subscriber proportion basis. Additionally, as our system design will provide for considerable broadband capabilities, WideOpenWest anticipates providing services that are not made available by rnany cable and telecommunications providers. For example, we will provide "open access". We appreciate your consideration of this request for the issuance of a franchise. We will promptly respond to any requests for further information or proposed franchise documents. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Very truly yours, WIDE ENWEST MINNESOTA, LLC C Christopher Julian Vice President Market Development cc: D. Craig Martin, Esq., General Counsel s ~~~~ ~ ali~I`IiYli11 ~ iTA~~~f ~~~-~~~~~sA ~, ~~ p -O WideOpenWest Anew competitive and fully Open Access network provider of Broadband Internet, cable TV and voice services Company Confidential ~ i~ Company Mission Build and operate the country's best residential, fiber optic based, high bandwidth Internet and digital cable television network ~ _ ~ ! , Company Confidential eet T eam NIa~-age~ m including 5 cif ied in teleco stems. ~`~ Q~'~ 20 years etitive sy H~~ verkate tial comp A , ent ~ CED . nnUnn ng new ompan1es'~ m, Former head °f G- ~ Pres'dbuilding and ubltc teleco yeamer President ontGd° in 2~ M chigan' viding 1ega1 se~ices' ears in pro For - aoh and Cable Designed Executive VS Stems artln ~,5 y ~- TEG Gable y Sel . Cra' M ears telec~ net Apps, roneral G.°_u ~~ecommunicann ke ~rOd,~?a, headdST In '°" ari~y ~., --usands of plant miles? u'~'-- ir~m polo a vp of thief Tech 23 years in telecom. and built tho a puf n Form erations ubs. t°w g~ technical op d Allen fiiber h chisi~ms n Boston °~ eng`neering 4 years at Sr. VP Fran ctOr ement exper1ence etitive Sys d Gir ath 1~ dears in telecom! comp affa'~rs an proven General ~ana9 erations• regulatory McGr Sales and op ,lulu Sr. VP & GA and p1RECneV+ Specialized competitive service ad of pRh TC~ and Time e Mullins 2 G~ level. Itelecorr'-, Former he Sr. dP ~ GM O at internati on 2Q years'n cable con~identi< a_ , _ w...anV m Depth ent lea nag~~n Ma t e,men r ro~ess-onal usiness manse my five oche a s each in b world gr'rdg issan ~- ?w'eeraging 15 ye ATg~T, °CG~~ Amer-can, N a~ News Cori ~ s Br-don Sony' sty Abbott Lab ~ ice le~e~s' oech H ~ nsure ~i-gb serv + n key ,~1elds to - ~ EXPert-se -engineer-ng ,~ processmanagement tourer se~~ce ,~ Protect control ~ cus Qual-t ~ ~ gales arketing Compan"! COnfiden~ia~ .. - ~- ~a~,c~ng ~f~ ~~rship aw ow vM ~©rmed in 1999 LL Go`Qrado held C' ~ privately HQ in Denver ~ Corp°rate in~i~de ent Sharehold ~ment ~- Curr nag Nla Companartners * AIRY p Capital pa~ners * pak Hill 2210 3g% 3g% Compa"y C°n{iden~iai ~~~ ~ Ba~kin9 Strength F~nancra --a ~ AIRY partners ~ yak Hi11 Capital fun ion in~estmen u1 team ~$~5 mi11 as a successf acting 12 year Tv - broad m theatres cable _ Stadia nd . rad ent 1O tm fu illion ~n~es sfu- team $'~ •6 b rs as a succes ,10 yea Internet r cable TV :broadcasting . to-eph°ne Company Confidential .r.•~ Simplified Network Design ~~ ,,.., Fiber Optic Node ..: iil „! ~~~ ~~ ~~ Interne H d Digital Redundant Fiber Optic Ring WideOpenWest° Serving 150 Homes Local Area HUB „ ;: ~, ~I ! !! Company Confidential ed L°~a~ Ne~~~ Prep°5 the digital connecting ub tic ra nternet routers too00 ~ Fiber o ~ an rox ate-y 20, headers im app sites serving serving'-50 homes es mor no fibers for Fiber direct to homes, w~tac tpYare drops ® future cap coax cabie ~ 860 MHz triode to each hom to each ~" from the dwith an pedicated Internet b ~ nics, customer mar-cet elect c cable ~ Current best i $ and fiber op digital set-top ~.,,o ~~ ~~M~~ ~ t``t~c~ ~., ,r. Design ~~ ~~ ~~~ ~< 1:. A --t -~ ~ ~=- ~- ~~~~, `~~- ~~~ Company Confidential _ _ ~~' WOW Internet Services Provided ~- Always-on, 10 meg/second transfer speeds ~,'s ~ l~L ~~~~s£~~,;`~„ ~- Open Access Network, open to other ISPs ~- IP Telephony gateway services ~- On-line billing and customer service ~- Direct connections to PC network cards ~- High speed broadband portal mu ~~ Company Confidential ~ M ~ WOW igital Cable TV Services ~- 860 MHz, two-way fiber to 150 homes per node ~- 80 channel capacity basic service, unscrambled to all TV sets and VCRs. ~- Additional 350 channel capacity digital service * Expanded programming tiers * Multiplex premium channels * Video-on-Demand & PPV Events * Digital Music & Interactive Guides * HDTV signals & digital broadcast feeds « i ~ ~ Company Confidential Highes# Customer Sere' ice Standards ~- Happy customers only ~ 24 x 7 x 365 service ~- On-line payment, tech suppor{, account info ~- Installations and service by appointment ~- Competitive pricing Mglt~pie points-of-Contact for Customer Service Traditional Telephone Dialogue or On-Line Web•based Dialogue Customer "'~~ ar, Insfallation Technician ~ Local Walkdn Offices "} ~ Billing 5.-: ^k ~"'~ Specialist Customer Service Agent si `~' '~ Repair f 7echnicran 4 t Company Confidential Consumer Benefits ~- Super High bandwidth, always-on Internet service ~- Competition and freedom of choice among many ISPs Anew choice for cable television service ~- Improved performance VoIP telephony Customer service competition and response -'~ { « y ~ ~ y Company Confidential t~t~ve Open ~ o f cor~pe B~ef~t d City raadban cress $ A F ranchwse ~- increased revenue achy prOVided T ~- Fiber c sc hoo1s11NE free to capacity neater citize, TV ~ pverali g With cab satisf act`r®n services ;,~~~/~J ~ Zypicaf competitive market penetration €~ SYPioai eOmpetilive market shares r enetrafion ~1 ~ 1 f~ ~ ~ Typical single Provider market P "/~~- Company confidential tTIR! ~ ~`~?'~ f~eid ~ny-ng level p ro~'~a~rs ,mon~3 p n t has: ben the cost°me~es Cable InGUrnstart and all 11 to themsel e ~ ~h 20 year nea net network margins a Intr of nigh pr°~rt a dosed _ many year cnedule t wrU • - s me ideC~enW a work on the Sr customer to ~ gull, W t ee ~e d pay pro ra ild a better ne rse f s an bu same franchnannel day th~ocal access c * Gar ~.,a~ Company Gonfiden seats ~ ion . ensr-~-~3 e • ~~c Se ~~ - -- Pha _ ~~ ~~ west is a t wide~pen ~- Sh°W tha erat°r op qualified a franch-se ~- Ne J°t-a agreemenunicipat and state pbtain m ~- appr°~a1s agreements chment ~- P°te atta chrnent clearances ~ P o1e atta d ermits an Struct1On perm-ts Con ~-~-~' 'A~ ~° Company COafida~tia~ ~~ Construction ~o p„ase d design ing an den s hubs i odes ~- Walk.ou{s~ map a d ' n he ~- F aci~itie and secured secure ~ & chosen use and materiarsiemente ~ W areho anagement imp ed ect m & train ~ proj sen contractors cho lan {or titles an ~ commun~ca ti'emented oa~iai cables; ants imp o tic & c res~dement o{r fiber p ~- piaG bons & hubs of any d~srup ~ Restoration Company Confidontiai ~~ . Customer Se~ice Phase Tree omen progress ~ Cust reports nenters atro ~ Lo~a1 in~~r"m 1 teChni~ians o~ a, ~ -gaining and staff etwork~ ~ -~ esting °~ sterr-s supp°~' sy cult°mer ~ Training ®~ 1 support pens°nne Company GOnfidentiai . , ,- Marketing, Installations & Phase Four Operations ~- Internet services ~- Digital Cable services ~- lP Telephony services ~ Pricing ~ packaging ,~ Special promotions and sales incentives ~ WideOpenWest sales strategy ~ Customer installations ~- Customer Satisfaction Feedback Company Confidential ~ ~ ~ e of F finis h~ M°derns ort~ide tnst~i~ ~~ W Zoo 1sa 1~ 140 0120 100 s0 ® r6 oadbaod 0 56 Kbps ~33~,Kps °r lower ._ a 60 40 Zo 0 1993 1994 1995 ~ :- 1g96 1997 199 tJ 3e e ZOOOe 2001e 2002e 2~ o00 1999 Source: V'isionQuest 2 Comt~anY Confidential 3~0 25°10 20°10 15°10 1% Aoo~ ~ Method Internet Use by 5°10 ._ ~dem ~~ ;r Prafde dentiai 0°jo 2 OC `g55 v~-- Factors Speed Important tO High S p~ Customer Service Monthly Fees Cost of Hardware Equipment initial Installment Price Multiple User Access 1 # ~ i 0°~0 10°fo % of RecentWeb Users who Internet AcGeSs D~sion 20°0 3000 64°Jo 70°0 $0°~0 40ojo 5000 Subscribe to Broadband within 9000 100°/0 12 Months pre Likely to 1999 gonrce:zolNet~nany Conf dential Camp Internet Use Increase From Upgrade to High-Speed Service NET Downloading Downloading music or other audio fifes Downloading video files ;~~;=~"~~r'~~~~,;ri .,, !~~~,~u;,'';",''~w,~ ~;,~ "-~~`~ ~x~',"'~' Downloading game demos NET Audio or Video Streaming Listening to streaming or live audio online Y~ewing streaming or live video oniine Telecommuting Sho in andlor urchasin online ~" 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Source: ZD/Net Internet Trak -May 1999 Company Confidential Todays News Pagel of 2 fiber Optic Broadband Internet Competitor WideOpenWest Enters Denver & Portland Markets k WideOpenWest Plans to Build and Operate a New Network Serving Residential Customers LITTLETON, Colo., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- WideOpenWest, LLC, a new high bandwidth Internet and digital cable television company, announced today that it is seeking local franchise authority to begin construction and operation of a high capacity fiber optic network designed to serve the residential communities in the greater Denver, Colorado and Portland, Oregon markets. WideOpenWest, headquartered in Littleton, will provide new facilities-based competition in the emerging residential high bandwidth Internet market, as well as competitive digital cable television and emerging IP telephony services. "WideOpenWest addresses the immediate need for a new high bandwidth residential network in Denver and Portland," said Mark Haverkate, President & CEO. "We are committed to providing an unsurpassed always-on cable modem Internet service as well as an 860 MFIz digital cable television system. And, in addition to offering our own wideopenwest.com branded high speed Internet service, we will also provide an open access platform to any other ISP interested in providing their own brand of high speed service to their customers." Mark Haverkate is a former senior executive and one of the original founding members of RCN Corporation, the country's first and largest competitive fiber optic residential network, now building broadband systems and serving customers in the Gast Coast and California. The WideOpenWest management team comes from many telecommunications company backgrounds, including DirecTV, News Corp, Sony, and Cable Michigan, as well as several other experienced veterans from RCN. The team also includes executives with extensive backgrounds in highly competitive and quality control sensitive industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and manufacturing. Private equity financing has been provided by Boston based ABRY Partners, and by Oak Hill Capital Partners, LP of Fort Worth, Texas. "Our Financial partners are very excited about the high bandwidth Internet business, and have provided us with the financial strength we need to take on a capital intensive project like WideOpenWest. We've looked at this opportunity very closely, and we are certain we are building the right network, in the right place, at the right time," said Mr. Haverkate. The company name, WideOpenWest, is a reference in Dart to the company's open access platform for competing ISP's. Ample capacity will be designed into the network to support any number of ISP's that choose to use the new fiber optic network to upgrade their customer base to a broadband connection. WideOpenWest is committed to providing this capacity on attractive terms, on a non-discriminatory basis, from the first day of operation. The company estimates that it will be able to begin customer installations about this time next year. WideOpenWest, LLC is building a brand new, high-capacity broadband fiber optic network that will offer super high-speed connections to the Internet and digital cable television services in several Western markets. The company plans to begin service in the metropolitan areas of Denver and Portland next year, with other markets to follow. WideOpenWest's executive team includes proven leaders with broad experience in the Internet, cable and telecommunications industries. Dnlike other broadband networks currently under development, either through new construction or the retrofitting of Todays News Page 2 of 2 e;cisting cable plant, the WideopenWest network will be an open platform for the company's own brand of Internet service, as well as for the services of competing ISP's on a non-discriminatory basis. SOURCE WideOpenWest, LLC Web Site: http.//www.wideopemvest.com .•~. t~ (Today's News) (Company News On-Call) (Search) (Feature News) (Automotive) (Energy) (Entertainment] (Financial) (HealthBiotech) (I-Iispanic) (Latin America) (Sports) (Technology) (Washington) ((Mountain News) (PRN Products & Services) (Ask PRN) (Links) (PRN Events) 0199(:-1999 PR Newswire. All rights reserved. Redistribution, retransmission, repubtication or commercial exploitatlon of the contents of this site are expressly prohibited without the written consent of PR Newswire. These pages have been optimized for Netscape v.2.0 or later From JaI.eJ Java Eustomer To Jnr.n Manez Ja;: E. PJ Cr ~ i' '_ _.. =.dA r~~y 1 p-_ ble Overbuilders Neatl for the Rockies wysiwyg:l/51/http://wvwv.mattichanne;news.cemilQSh~. • Weekly Preview for January 3, 2000 Cable Overbuilders Head for the Rockies Denver -Colorado may soon de the most competitve market in the nation when i[ comes tc cable: Internet-zccess and telephony services, ~ ~ ~ - Wdh AT&T 8readoand & Internet Services already Retrans Duels entrenched in the local market, area regulators 065 Eves Aecord confirmed fast week that twe new service providers are seek,ng franchises that wculC set up showd w s with th n lar st tA50 ti ' 'tilt 2000 Be the Year of the ge o n e z on s DGJ IVE ? U S VJest, the state's Cominznt !oca'.-~rchange carrier and W'ideOpenVJest PLC a start-up Ratings xovdh Slowx , , company led by former RCN Corp. executives, are Icoking to compete for 465 000 metro [able Adelph~a Atld> Two More , customers currently served by AT&T 3rcadbznd Comcast. Jones `Nheel and With plans to deliver cable and h,gh-speed Ded lntemet access, both compan,es have approached the Greater Metrc Time'A`amer News ~cn. Telecommunications Ccnsartium, z xalitle~ o* Set Deal municipal regulators for Cenver and 25 surrounding communities. Renevua Makes Raom to: Access WideOpenWest is also rego:iating with. the Cry of Portland, Ore., where AT&T Broacba^c is tookeC FcheStar Plar. Reiec:eC in a legal light over ocen access. IntrguingP~, it has agreed to aibw internePservice providers in OvertuYders head ;or both communities errto its 86C-megaher~ Rockies net\vcrk 'They haven't even blinked at that requ~rGment," MCRE» Denver Office of Telexmmunications direcicr Dean Smds said, adding that a sexntl netwod< open to unatiiiated IS°s may force AT~,r Broadband's hand. '1'ou gc from one provider to three, with ene offering open access and it changes the dynamics." ne said. "I think it will exert soma t.nd of pressure cn AT~T " YVideOpenWest president and C_O Hark Haverkate, a feund)ng me,^tbar of RCPT czPed Denver and Portland "twe underserved markets." 'They're both high-Censity, high Internet usage," he atltled. "We'll have pient~r of caczcity for any number of ISPs. And we think if; gcoC business to have as many cus;omers on our ne4r+ork as .t 3 15!00 11121 , F:om 6;IUeC Sony Customer To'. Jc"a YIa~S; ble Oaerbuilders Head for the Rockias possib~e." w~,rs,wyg:i157/hrto.//~Nirir. muttichanneinews.comHQsh~ Haverkate szid the company plans to spend S ~ 50 million budding networks in Denver and Portland, using equity financing obtained rrom Boston,-based ABBY Broadcast Partners L.P and r~ak Hill Capaal Partners of Fcri Worth, Texas. Meanwhile. AT&T broadband wntinues its 750-MHz upgrade of as r~enrrorx±hrcughour the metro Denver area at a cost of 5200 million "We have polished oar customer care, we have launched digita! video we are depla~rng high-speed Internet servirx. and it is well-known to our competitors that we're ~,vorgng to roll out local telephone service." AT&T Broadband spokesman Matt Fleury said. U S West appears headed toward its first deal - a i 5-year franchise allowing it to sarva 123,000 affluent residents of urnncorporated Douglas Counh'. south of Denver County commissioners last week delayed a final vete on C S West's franchise ai the request of AT&T Broadband. which Said it needed more time [o review the deal. The commission will ?ake up the prapesai -- ~ahi~ch has been endorsed by ci lcial staff --this week "!Ys pretty exciting for us," county admir.~strator Doug DeBord said. 'There are a lot o; Feople wno don'? have zn alternative to the incur.be-R. Now they will." U S West's franchise also covers an urnv,rec resitlential devebpment "a stone's throw' from AT&T Broadbard's corpcrete headquarters where low population density lad made oYering cable uneconomical, DeBord sa:d, The regional Bell ooerat:ng company will run facer obtiCS to within 4,000 feet of area homes, then combine its copper telephone wires with the video-digital-subscriber-line technology G usad to introduce cable service in Fhcenix U S West ot~cials. who were unavailable `or comment last week, are also talking with officials in Aurora. Boulder Cherry riiNs Village. JeTercr, County, Lakewood and Litt:'etcr,., Colo. Aurora officials expect to finalize a deal by early as February, since a second franchise won't deviate much from the agreement the city signed witty ATF.T Broadband last year. 'The hard work has already been done,` Aurora spokesrrar, Joe LaRorzc said, nosing that a franchise with U S West could act as a node! `o' other local cvmmurnties "U S'~,'v'es: is very serious. They want to start building really soon.." WideOpenYVest is also talking to officials in Aurora, which could produce cui hroat competition in a community of 2"00,000 where ATsT R3 ifj~nn 1^'c1 , Frcrn •/31uetl Scr/ Customer 'o. Joni ?fa.~Ya ble Goerbudders Head ter the Rockies ^rysiwl~;/51/haa1M~•./w.,-nultichanne.news ccnH C.sh~~ NI curceMs 3800^ Canners business Infarwiioo. A116ghs reserved. MuRichannel hews s a ragia:ered trademark of Canners Business IMOrmation. ~_ast Uptlated: 72r0l99 1C:0i ?M Oregon Live Printer Friendly Page R Prater Friendly Pagaae Fro[m"~ ~j ~~..~G ~ V`' i ,'~ ~~~~ wwvr.oregonlive.com t~(~E (~t II~OCl1c1T1 THE FULL STORY Colorado start-up company submits cable TV proposal The development gives Portland an alternative to AT&T, which it is bottling over open access December 9, 1999 By Su-jin Yim of The Oregonian staff Some Portland-area cable customers could have a new choice in cable TV companies next year if a 2-month-old communications start-up from the Denver area delivers what it's promising. Wide Open West, founded by Mark Haverkate, a former RCN Corp. executive, wants to build a technologically advanced network in Portland and Multnomah County to compete with AT&T Corp. for cable TV and high-speed Internet and telephone service. "We're definitely going to do it," Haverkate said Wednesday. "The only, only thing that could stop it is if the town said we don't want this." That's not likely. "We're quite excited about the prospect of competition," said David Olson, the city's cable director. "We won't put any obstacles in their way. At the same time, we can't give them any special deal that AT&T doesn't have." Wide Open West's proposal does more than promise consumers a choice of cable operator. The emergence of a potential competitor throws a new twist into the widely watched battle between the city and Multnomah County on the one hand and AT&T on tha other over cable access. AT&T sued the city and county a year ago afrer local Wide Open West CEO: Mark Haverkate Employees: 14 Headquarters: Colorado Backers: $50 million from venture funds Abry Partners Inc. of Boston and Oak Hill Venture Partners of Menlo Park, Calif. Plans Yor fhe Portland area: To build a secontl cable N network, using fber- optic and coaxial cable, to offer cable N, high-speed Internet and local phone service toresitlential customers. Initially, the company plans to serve Portland, Gresham, Trouttlale, Wood Village and Fairview. Discussion: Will present its proposal at The Mt. Hood cable commission at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 16 in the Portland Building, 1120 S. W. Fifth Ave. Page 1 of 3 ~~ ----- -----~.-t:.., ..~.../,.,,~_t,~„/„r;nter/nrinter.cai 12/9/99 Oregon Live Printer Friendly Page officials voted to force AT&T to open its cable network to Internet rivals. AT&T Lost in U.S. District Court in June and said this week that it will provide some access to its network beginning in 2002. However, it's still appealing the court ruling. If Wide Open West builds its system, it could ease some of the angst that AT&T's lawsuit has caused among some Portlanders who are worried about being left behind in the information revolution while the city and AT&T feud. Portland was the first municipality to force the open-access issue, launching a heated battle in towns and cities nationwide. In the meantime, Multnomah County residents don't have access to cable Internet service. Launching a new cable system is an ambitious, expensive undertaking. Wide Open West estimates it will cost $250 million to build a network that encompasses 500,000 homes. But, though young, the company has some strong advantages, including big-money backers from both coasts and industry executives experienced in precisely what they're proposing in Portland. As RCN's executive vice president of city operations, Haverkate led the team that built new cable systems in New York City, Boston, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. "We've done this before. It's not like we were sitting around last month saying, 'Hey, we've got a good idea,' "Haverkate said. "We've had the opportunity to learn from mistakes in the past. We know how to do it step by step." RCN is a publicly held Princeton, N.J., company that offers phone, cable TV and Internet service in selected cities nationwide. It reported $210.9 million in annual revenue last year. Haverkate left RCN in October after deciding he missed a more entrepreneurial atmosphere and wanted to run his own business. He quickly landed $50 million in financing from Abry Partners Inc. of Boston and Oak Hill Venture Partners of Menlo Park, Calif. Wide Open West will be the first company to present a complete plan to local officials for providing AT&T a cable competitor. Before it stazts construction, Wide Open West must first negotiate an agreement with the city. The company is scheduled to take the first formal step and present its proposal Dec. 16 to the Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission. Olson, who advises the Mt. Hood commission, said it could take as little as 60 days to sign a franchise agreement, which would be modeled after the existing agreement with AT&T. The commission will hold public hearings. Then, each city council must approve the agreement. Later this week, Portland officials plan to announce the rest of the results of its October request for alternatives. Another company, Open Access Broadband, is Page 2 of 3 ~.««_.ii....,,.,, ,,,o,,,,„~;~,,, „~,,,/ra;_hin/printer/nrinter.Cei 12/9/99 Oregon Live Printer Friendly Page also considering building a new fiber-optic network, but it does not plan to sell services to consumers. It would instead sell space to other companies, such as Internet service providers. Wide Open West promises it will deliver an all-new network with the latest technological advances and superior customer service. If all goes smoothly, customers could start signing up at this time next year, Haverkate said. But prices won't necessarily be lower. "Our proposition is not that we're way cheaper," Haverkate said. "For the same money, you can get way better cable service, way better Internet service." No matter what happens, the city is benefiting from its aggressive stand on open access, City Commissioner Erik Sten said. "If we bank on just one of them, we're in trouble," Sten said. "That goes for AT&T as well as these new ones." . Su jin Yim can be reached at 503-29=F-7611 or by e-mail at suyim@news. Oregonian. com Return tv Ore'?on I_.ive Copyright 1999, Oregon Live Page 3 of 3 ---~=-. ,.....r,.,.; t,;„/.,r;,,tar/nrintercai 12/9/99 Oregon Live: 12-10-99 Potential attracts cable firm Oregotttive wrsx: ~e ~C2~Okttbtt Busine~ Home Tech NW Stock Quotes ~ Click for more ~.~• °' ~ ome peop a now .. ~. everything there is to know ,X aboufi ears. Ilnme Business; Ruck Lf~c (~ceayczial~ THE FULL STORY Potential attracts cable firm A Colorado company plans to compete with AT&T in Portland and is willing to spend rnillion.r to start a nehvork from scratch December 10, 1999 By Su jin Yim of The Oregonian staff F'a"~ums`ctim'1?~`'1 For years, David Olson tried to get Portland's cable Usef'u%sluff~?x`':~~~ ~ companies to perform an astounding feat: lay cable in Mer`kefplece f "" each other's territory and compete head-to-head. FAQ Using our Site ~~We gave them practically gold-plated invitations, flowers and chocolate," said Olson, who oversees cable operations for the city. "We were never able to get these guys to compete with each other." Search Our Archives Instead the companies stuck to their geographic ~` monopolies. ~9! Now, a brash start-up company from the Denver area Questions? says it's eager to compete with AT&T Corp., which Suggestions? became the area's only large cable provider through Send us your acquisition. Wide Open West is willing to do what Feedback the more-established companies wouldn't: spend For eor privacy policy, millions on a new network. click here. Far our nser agree- The emergence of potential competition is more than ment. dick here. the loosening of old monopolistic behavior. It reflects a revamped economic model, created in part by Copyright 1999 recent consolidation in the cable industry and the Oregon Llve ~ explosion of communications technologies. Building a new cable TV system is ahigh-dollar proposition, but it makes more sense now than it did five or 10 years ago, analysts say. Send /Print this page Page 1 of 4 ' ~ ~__ NEWS FROM THE NET: . Oregon News .Crime • Medicine . US Politics . Science L.._.rr.-..-„-. „-o,.,,„r,.,P ,.,,„,n,r,~;,,P~~/99/12/hz121001.html 12/10/99 Oregon Live: 12-10-99 Potential attracts cable firm That's because existing companies, through acquisitions and technology upgrades, have poured more money into each cable subscriber than ever before. That also means they have to get more money out of each customer than newer companies do. Start-ups azgue they can keep their cost per customer lower by building anall-new system from scratch rather than having to upgrade older systems. Although Wide Open West's new construction costs would be high -- the company estimates it would cost $250 million to pass 500,000 homes -- it itnmediately would be able to carry new services, such as Internet access and phone service. Wide Open West won't pay a premium to another company to buy its customers. It will hunt for them in the marketplace, said David Brown of Oak Hill Venture Partners, which is backing Wide Open West. In comparison, AT&T is spending $2 billion to upgrade its existing networks nationwide. The company has spent more than $100 billion to buy those networks. In some parts of Portland, AT&T has inherited cable that was first laid iu the 1960s. Those have since been upgraded. "A year-and-a-half ago, cable subscribers were valued at $2,000 a subscriber; now they're valued at $5,000," said Scott Cleland of Legg Mason Precursor Group. Only selling cable TV service at $30 a month, or $360 a yeaz, to a customer that represents a $5,000 investment is unacceptable, he said. So, the companies don't just sell cable television. They want to sell high-speed Internet, local phone and data services. "What wasn't economical with one service may be economical with multiple services," Cleland said. Wide Open West should be able to deliver digital cable television, high-speed Internet and some local phone service for about $2,500 to $3,000 per subscriber, Brown said. Page 2 of 4 hrr„~//.a,.ann, nreo~nlive.cnm/business/99/12/bz121001.html 12/10/99 Oregon Live: 12-10-99 Potential attracts cable firm Wide Open West isn't the only company that sees an opportunity in building new cable systems. RCN Corp. of New Jersey has been building rival cable systems through much of the '90s in places such as New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Wide Open West's top executive, Mark Haverkate, led the team that built those systems. In October, the company got a $I.65 billion infusion from Blazers owner and Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul A11en to fully fund its expansion unti12003. In Portland, the opportunity for a choice in cable companies comes as the city and Multnomah County fight with AT&T over opening its system to Internet competitors. Another company, Open Access Broadband, also has expressed an interest in entering Portland. Theoretically, the city could let more than one company build its own new system, Olson said. But it's unlikely two companies would make such an investment. "The risk of being the third person is dramatically higher than the risk of being the second," Brown said. Top `- ~ ome peop a now :~,>~~ everything there is to know _ ~T abort cars. Send / PriN this paSe Talk about it in Sitieon Foust Today's Tnp Business Stories Friday December 10, 1999 » Colorado cable firm plans to compete with AT&T >% Chip sales rebound, hit record » Oregon cuts its unemployment rate » Tyco shares dive after news of inquiry » U.S. Bank will pay back overtime >% AT&T allows instant messaging to AOL » People. Meigs moves to Arnerich Massena » Earnings Costco improves, plans stock split » Market: Dow ends higher in fitful session » Local News » National & International News Page 3 of 4 ' ~~----- --.----t:•.. ,....../L..,o:.,ncc/oq/17/h~171001 html 12/10/99 Cable World -Operations 01/17/2000 http://ca bleworfd. com/story/2000/Opera lions/2000011701. asp CableWorlds OPERAT10N5 PROGRAMIMING MARKETINGB TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS HOME ADVERTISING eawcii -_---_--;; Go llperat~+ons 'SAMPLE . BANNERAO News Todav Our Current Issue From the Road The Bia Picture Movers & Shakers Avails Extra Sound Off From the Street Screening Room Cable World Cable Avails Millennium Series Programming Supplements Bits & Bytes The Broadband Handbook The Cyberguide Cable Career Center Cable Avails Buyers' Guide Advertising Info Editorial Calendar Editorial Contacts Sales Contacts Subscriptions Intertec Publishing Primedia Inc. Denver, Portland Get Wowed IVew company will open network to ISP competitors January 25, 201 Cahle~~ ~~ .gym-~ Y~ ~~ a c<This Weel By K.C. Neel Bigger would appear to be better these days in the world of telecommunications. But Mark Haverkate is betting that smaller entrepreneurial telecom companies will continue to have some advantages over the mega firms being created today. may;: Haverkate has formed Wide-OpenWest LLC, a Littleton, Technolog Colo.-based voice, video and data company that is trying to secure franchises in Portland, Ore., and the Denver metro area. r~r~ Haverkate says he chose these two markets to launch WOW Movers & "because Portland asked us to submit a bid" following its spat with Update eve AT&T Broadband & Internet Services over open access. And Denver is afast-growing market with plenty of opportunities," he says. WOW is close to signing several franchises in the Denver metro Bits & I Research area and is in talks with the city of Denver to initiate franchise talks, Haverkate says. The company plans to build its broadband networks from scratch installing fiber to nodes of about 125 homes in both Denver and Portland. WOW hopes to serve the entire Denver metro area within about five years -about how long it'll take to build the 860 MHz digital network. WOW intends to open its network to ISP competitors from day one -unlike AT&T Broadband & Internet Services, which serves both Denver and Portland residents. Haverkate isn't daunted by the corporate competition in either market. He served as EVP of RCN before leaving last fall to form WOW. The company, which figures it can deliver its services for between $2,500 and $3,000 per customer, has raised enough funds from investors ABRY Partners and Oak Hill Capital Partners, a Robert M. Bass ~ nSlnn 1n~nF DA: ~abieWorld -Operations 01117/2000 hllpa/cableworld.com/story/2000/Operations/200001170 trip company, Haverkate says, to compete effectively. "Our goal is to get 25% of the market in Denver," he says. "If we can achieve that, it'll be a great business." Back Advertise with Us I News Todav ~ Archives I Subscribe I Site Map I Home CableWorld @ 2000, Afl Rights Reserved Legal Notice CableWodd -Cover Story - 1!24/2000 htlp://ca bleworl d. co m/Cove rStory, asp CableWorld OPERATIONS PROGRAh11,11NG ADVERTISING TECHNOLOGY BU51NES5 HOME January 28, 20( Search Gal)lelt Go ^ /~ ~r ~® m c SAMPLE ~~~ RIIR ~3 BANNER AD i e Smokin' the Big Pipe _ CONTENTS NewsTodav «This Wee our Current Issue Bandwidth constraints challenge industry FEATURE From the Road ° The Big Picture Movers & Shakers By Jim Barthold Avails Extra I i Sound off Just when you thought you were going to reap the rewards of - From the Street years of rebuilds and upgrades, you discover that the applications Screening Room guys have gobbled up all your headroom. Technoloc t{Cable World• w~ "These develo ers are out of hand," joked Jim Wood, AT&T BIS' p r'' Cable Avails VP-advanced technology at the recent SCTE Conference on «~ Millennium Series Emerging Technologies. "Give them another 8 mega-bits and Movers & Pro rammin g g they take it and ask for 10." Updated e~ Supplements kRESOUR~ES ~ Indeed, to support its futuristic plans for a myriad of video, voice ~, Bits & Bytes and data applications, the broadband industry is scrambling to ~- The Broadband restructure its networks. Handbook Bits & The Cyberguide "Do you want to dominate access to cyberspace?" asked Terry Research cable Career Center ' Wright, CTO of C-Cornet Corp. "If the answer to that question Cable Avails Buyers from the broadband community is 'Yes we do,' then you have to ~ ~~ Guide invest in a little bit of extra capacity." ~~.g ~ fAB.QUT=US" Advertising Info The AOL-Time Warner merger signals that the industry has some Editorial Calendar bandwidth-consumptive plans, said Joe Thomas, Chromatis Editorial Contacts Networks Inc.'s network consultant. Sales Contacts subscriptions Intertec Publishing "You have a converged content provider with the world's largest Primea;a lnc. Internet Service Provider. You're going to see more demand for multimedia streaming. You have an unpredictable bandwidth issue to consider when planning a transport network," he explained. 1/28/00 10:21 AM CableWorld ~ Cover Story - 1/24/2000 http://ca bleworld. co m/C overStory. a s p Build or rebuild? The easiest solution is to build a new network. "The greenfield guys, the overbuilders and the utilities, are going to put state-of-the-art in there," Wright warned. Incumbents, though, must restructure, at a cost penalty of 15% to 30%, Wright predicted. Costs at least are dropping, said Oleh Sniezko, AT&T BIS engineering VP, speaking at ET. "Most optoelectronics decline very fast - 50% in the first year and decline to 25% of their original price after tour years," he explained. "These declining prices have been paralleled by the declining prices of fiber. Today, the price of fiber is at 70°/o of the price in 1995." This price fall-off moves AT&T to phase ll of its Salt Lake City LightWire trial, Sniezko said. That architecture pushes fiber to small nodes and places intelligence in strategically located cable modem termination systems (CMTS). Wright said he has been advancing a similar distributed intelligence network since 1996 in anticipation of today's situation. Runnin' on empty "What if the cable industry is successful with cable modems and data service and all that?" he wondered in 1996. "They're going to run out of bandwidth." The best way to combat that is "to create small pockets of user networks, taking each RF wire and making it its own network. To do that you have to put the CMTS down to the node level." Further along, Wright suggested carriers and moving data traffic, CMTS to the Internet backbone. bypassing local exchange via fiber, directly from the node Another way to deal with bandwidth constraints is to boost compression ratios, said Yvette Gordon, Sea-Change Internationai Inc.'s VP-interactive technologies. Gordon used a mathematical algorithm called "wavelets" to cut bitrate encoding from 3 megabits per second to 1. "At 3 megabits per second MPEG-2 content, I can show 12 programs," she explained. "If I use 1 megabit, I can get 38 programs through one 6 MHz channel." 1/28/00 10:21 AM CableWorld -Cover Story - 1/24/2000 http: //cableworld. com/CoverStory. asp It still has buys, she admitted. "All the issues around it aren't ironed out, but for talking about what we're doing in the future, to look at options and how we can address getting more out of our bandwidth, it is absolutely one of the things we should look at," she said. My aching headend New compression methods offer only partial relief for the bandwidth headache, said Chromatis' Thomas. His company uses a headend-to-headend metropolitan architecture with Selective Wave Division Multiplexing (SWDM) to mix cheaper 1310 optics with more powerful, but more expensive, 1550 wavelengths. "A dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) system requires that you drop 1550 wavelengths of light at every headend along the way," he explained. "With SWDM, you don't have to. You can deploy a 1310 nanometer ring rather inexpensively and then only add the 1550 wavelengths when and where you need them." It's future-friendly. "It's not a forklift upgrade scenario. It's build it when you need it, add a card or a module to it when you need more bandwidth," he added. That's important. Operators are loath to spend more money on their networks. On the other hand, there's not much room to maneuver. A vendor, speaking on background, offered a bittersweet take on the AOL Time Warner scenario. While praising the wealth of content the two companies bring, he questioned the ability of the networks to handle it. "It's not hard to do the math," he confided. "If you say the average peak user today is using 200 kilobits per second, with all these applications he's probably going to do several times that. So you say, 'Gee, how far will 155 megabits (a typical DS3 link) take me?"' And that's just the start. "It doesn't speak to the CLECs (telephony}. It doesn't speak to video-on-demand, to converged applications. ft doesn't speak to all the instant buying opportunities, all the advertising. It doesn't talk to any of that." If you've been listening lately, though, that's what everyone else has been talking about. 1 /28/00 10:21 AM WitleOpenWest Gets Franchise No. 1 Mt ultichYaYnnel wysiwyg://8/hitp://www. multichannelnews.comldaily/26d shlml Daily Update for January 27, 2000: WideOpenWest Gets Franchise No. 1 Go Denver -- WideOpenWest LLC, a privately held telecommunications outfit led by former RCN Corp. executives, was granted its first official cable franchise Wednesday. Jefferson County, Colorado's largest local jurisdiction, approved a 15-year deal that will allow WideOpenWest to offer cable, Internet and phone service in 25 communities west of Denver. WideOpenWest president Mark Haverkate said the company expects to "talk to the first customer later this year." It plans to spend $500 million to compete against AT&T Broadband & Internet Services along Colorado's Front Range. "This is our first official franchise, but we have a fot of things in the works, and we hope to have multiple announcements in February," Haverkate said. He reiterated plans to offer open access to unaffiliated Internet-service providers, thereby putting additional pressure on AT&T Broadband, which has been battling the issue nationwide for more than one year. WideOpenWest is also in the process of wrapping up a franchise in Portland, Ore., where it proposes to spend $250 million building a system that will go head-to-head with AT&T Broadband in the market where the open-access controversy originated. CSB to Review Merger Replay Plans IPO FCC to Holtl Forum VeloCom Gets Financing WitleOpenWest Gets No 1 UPC Extentls SBS Investment MORE » 1/28/00 9:01 AM WideOpenWest Gets Franchise No. 1 wysiwyg://8/http:!/www. mu Iti cha n ne I news. com/daily/26d. shtml 1/28/00 9:01 AA All contents ©2000 Cahners Business Information. All rights reserved. Multichannel News is a registered trademark of Cahners Business Information. Last Updated; 01127/00 05:28 PM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Michael Steinkirchner, WideOpenWest Public Relations 215.49).7703 WideOpenWest Accelerates Broadband Competition in Texas Notion's First Open-Access Itrandband Provider In Talks {pith More Thmr Two Dozen Tc-eas tYlunicipalitres (Irving, Texas, January 31, 2000) WideOpenWest, LLC, which recently received the nation's first open access broadband franchise, today announced its plans to develop its state-of--the-art broadband fiber optic networks in the Texas metropolitan areas of Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth. The company has already achieved significant momentum in the state, having filed applications or made presentations to more than two dozen Texas municipalities, representing over one million households. "WideOpenWest has a unique combination of an experienced, competition-tested management team, strong, committed and local fnancial partners, an innovative entrepreneurial approach to the market, and a cooperative regulatory attitude in working with local communities," said Mark Haverkate, President & CEO. "We believe broadband Intemet will be dte telecommm~icaiions platform of choice in the years ahead, and that existing networks are not capable of delivering the bandwidth and reliability consumers will demand. That's why we are committed to building a new network, and providing a new level of customer service and competition." WideOpenWest recently received the nation's first open access broadband Franchise in Jefferson County, Colorado. After obtaining local franchise agreements, WideOpenWest constructs high capacity fiber optic broadband nebvorks throughout each municipality. These new networks enable the company to offer high speed Internet service, digital cable television, and telephony services to its customers, in competition with current incumbent providers. One of the company's core values is that its networks ace "WideOpen," and available to any number of national and regional ISP's on a fair and non-discriminatory basis who seek to provide their customers high-speed broadband access. This policy seeks to assure the preservation of competition and choice in the emerging broadband Intemet market; resulting in the development of enhanced services, more innovation, and lower prices. "The cities we've begun working with are very interested in bringing new competition to the market," said Julia McGrath, Senior Vice President and the company's Southern Region General Manager. "They understand that the construction of a new broadband network is a very sienificant undertaking, and they appreciate the fact that our management team has experience and a proven record of success." WideOpenWest is backed largely by Oak Hill Capita] Partners, based in Fort Worth, Texas. Oak Hill Capital is a $1.6 billion investment fund, formed by Robert M. Bass and his investment professionals. "We are very excited about the opportunity to help improve the telecommunications infrastructure in our home state of Texas," said J. Taylor Crandall, Managing Partner of Oak Hill Capital. "We believe customers will embrace competition in what have been, up until now, monopoly markets. WideOpenWest will raise the bar for bandwidth, innovation, customer service and -above all -customer choice." WideOpenWest, The Company WideOpenWest, LLC is building a brand new, high capacity broadband fiber optic network that will offer super high-speed connections to the Intemet and digital cable television services in several Western markets. The company plans to begin service in the metropolitan areas of Denver, Portland and several Texas cities this year, with other trtarkets to follow. WideOpenWest's executive team includes proven leaders with broad experience in the Internet, cable and telecommunications industries. Unlike other broadband networks currently under development, either through new construction or the retrofitting of existing cable plant, [he WideOpenWest network will be an open platform for the company's own brand of Internet service, as well as for the services of competing ISP's on anon-discriminatory basis. DenverPost.com -Business News Duo DenverPasLcom ABOUT US HELP ABOUT US/HELP ARCHIVES BUSINESS -Access Magazine -AP MonevWire. -Computing -MOnev's Worth -Personal Portfolio -Post 100 -Stock Ooutes CLASSIFIEDS COMMUNITIES DISCUSSION ENTERTAINMENT LIFESTYLES MARKETPLACE NEWS OPINION PROMOTIONS SPORTS WEATHER DPO MAIN SEARCH DPO: __.-.._ _~_.._ ___.._._I Search Email Us oPo The benver Pose wys iwyg://45/h ttp://www. de nve rposLCOm/business/bi z0206a. htm wnan~ ./!~~~_ OFFICIAL NFCVlS/ r`t _ ~ ~:® _ _ ~ Submit - '.Reset (' N (^ ~~ (~ ~4 (^, ~ MAKE YOUR PICK A wire for all reasons By Pete Lewis Special to The Denver Post Feb. 6 -Jefferson County is the launching point for a telecom startup that hopes to deliver high-speed Internet, cable TV and telephone service via fiber-optic wires in cities ranging from Denver to Portland, Ore. Douglas County-based WideOpenWest's workers are mapping out the first phase of their network in south Jefferson County - essentially the unincorporated area north and east of C-470. WideOpenWest will spend about $3 million to hang about 600 miles of cable on existing phone and cable polls, enough to serve about 60,000 homes. The company plans to begin offering the services there by the third quarter of this year. The company hopes eventually to expand its network throughout the Denver metro area, Boulder and Colorado Springs, said President and CEO Mark Haverkate, who left RCN Corp., a New Jersey-based pioneer in broadband services, to start WideOpenWest late last year. WideOpenWest must get approval from each and every local government before it can hang or bury cable. In some cases it must seek voter consent. "We've already talked with all .. , of the municipalities in the Denver area," Haverkate said. "It is our intention to serve the entire area." Meanwhile, WideOpenWest is negotiating an agreement to build its network in the Portland area, and also plans to target the Dallas-Fort Worth area. To fund its ambitious plans, WideOpenWest has secured more than $50 million in venture capital from Oak Hill Capital Partners of Fort Worth, Texas, and Bostonbased ABRY Partners. Haverkate said the company is funded through 2001 and expects to have at least one more round of venture capital financing. WideOpenWest's network will provide high-speed, always-on Internet access at 3 megabytes per second, Haverkate said. The television service will include avideo-ondemand feature that, unlike traditional pay-per-view, will allow subscribers to start and pause videos whenever they desire. The telephone service will focus on enhancements like low-cost long distance, teleconferencing and multiple lines rather than local access. As for price, Haverkate would only say that it will match the DenverPost.com -Business News wysiwyg://45/http://www.denverpost.com/business/biz0206a.htm quality of the services. "We`re not going to be bargain priced," he said. The company also will sell bandwidth on the network to competing Internet service providers. WideOpenWest's broadband services are similar to those being rolled out by a growing number of companies in Colorado and nationwide, thanks to the deregulating effect of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. AT&T is spending more than $200 million to upgrade its system so that it can deliver a package of cable N, telephone and Internet service in the Denver area. U S West recently won approval to provide a multimedia package of services over copper wires in Douglas County and is seeking approval in Boulder County. Smaller startups such as WideOpenWest also are getting in the game. In Colorado Springs, upstart SunWest Communications wants to provide broadband services, while Denver-based Western Integrated Networks has raised $450 million in its efforts to install fiber-optic networks in Texas and California. SunWest has run into trouble with Colorado Springs officials who say it must receive voter approval to win an exclusive cable TV franchise. WideOpenWest intends to be on the Aug. 8 primary ballot in Denver, where voters will decide whether WideOpenWest will receive anon-exclusive franchise to provide service. A similar choice will be presented in a special election ballot in Boulder which Haverkate hopes will be in May or June. "In general we've been impressed with WideOpenWest," said Dean Smits, director of Denver's office of telecommunication. A franchise in Denver would be for cable television, but will include Internet and eventually phone service, Smits said. Broomfield and Colorado Springs also require voter approval, but Haverkate said he is confident the company will be able to pursue its plans in both cities. Voter approval isn't required in Jefferson County, which explains why WideOpenWest is starting there, Mullins said. The company received Jefferson County commissioners' approval Jan. 25, "We don't put up road blocks and we don't extract huge fees," said Richard Turner, director of planning and zoning for Jefferson County. "We need this type of infrastructure in our county if we are to be competitive." Tom Clark, president and chief executive of the Jefferson Economic Council, said the county has made a conscious effort to make it easy for any telecom providers to set up shop there. "We're acutely aware of the challenges associated with an older community attracting high tech and its necessary infrastructure," Clark said. Clark said residents and businesses most likely would welcome any enhancement to telecommunications service in Jefferson County. ~enverPosl.corn -Business News wysiwyg://45/http:llwww.denverposl.com/business/biz0206a.htm "The quality and level of service in the county is entirely a mixed bag," he said. "The additional entry into this field will accelerate the deployment of technology and be particularly good news for our employers, who up to this point are forced to take what they can get." Copyright 2000 The Denver Post. Ail rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. DPO from A-Z ~ Return to too ZDNeL Inter@ctive Week: Cable Overbuilding May Be Smart After All wysiwyg://77/http://www.zdnet.c...ies/news/0,4164,2438123,OO.html Rate your NEWS Top News company and win °'°'-~ sesanMETb.naryzl,zooo a Palm Piiot! Click Cable Overbuilding May Be Smart After All - ' What s Aiiincl here! gy Rebecca Cantwell, Inter@ctive Week LUCent? Free Newsletter February 16, 2000 2:21 PM ET ~ Deflating Bandwidth ' Mark Haverkate has bold plans to lay new networks of Glut Predictions fiber-optic cable in residential neighborhoods. He wants ~ AOL. MICrO50ft Vle Sign up! to reach intofast-growing cities and make his networks To Win Net2Phone _ _ wide open to all Internet service providers. ~ Open Access Debate NeWS & VieWS Itwasn'ttoolongagothatadreamerlikeHaverkate Far From Closure Nome would have been laughed out of the backrooms where ~ B d funding providers with deep pockets made their bets It ump~7 Roa Ahead NeWS Scan . made little financial sense to compete with entrenched for M-COmmerce OplnlOn cable operators as an overbuilder. ~ Online SerVICeS V12 S~eClal Reports Print ISSUeS gut Haverkate's Denver-based WideOpenWest is one For Urban Attention of several companies that have been able to tap into C~Net IndeX those pockets for some initial capital that will be used to Internet 500 build state-of-the-art cable networks to compete head to -) E-mail u s! head with the likes of AT&T. s,•,~.,«a nY ~ Topics ^It's the Internet," says Haverkate, who launched ~ Print Ihisl • Bzg WideOpenWest (wvnv. wideopenwest.com) after • 82C leaving RCN (www.rcn.com), now the nation's big-gest " J Seve this! cable overbuilder. If wa were just looking at being a _ • Communications cable TV company, we wouldn't be doing this at all." • Desktops • Entet"prl5e Apps Haverkate is targeting people who can hardly stomach InV2StOr • Infr anstructure waiting for bits of information to crawl across their ' ~ e ~ screens once they ve tasted fast Internet access. Other • Java would-be overbuilders are eyeing the lucrative phone symbor fast chancre • LInUX market. The combination of services changes the ow 10219.52.. +0 • Management economics. Nasdao 4411.74 -137.18 .whet 587.22_,:-1661 • Mobile "Cable overbuilding never took off because the 2/18/00 4:30:00 PM EST Data delayed at least 20 • SeCUritV assumption was you would have to compete on price minutes • SerVerS and be the low-cost provider from day one -and • StOraae you're not necessarily going to be able to do that," says " IpveStOr News Chris Larsen, an analyst at Prudential Securities. But • Strategy & with the data product, you have something interesting 2/21/00 10:28:52 AM PT POlicy and new you can sell me." • Gen i : Tuned • Web Comp_utinq The forecast revenue er month er customer zooms In logged on p p , • WindoWS 2000 when the offer includes high-speed Internet access plus Cashed Up • Year 2000 telephone service, in addition to cable TV. And "share of wallet" is the name of the game in bundled services. Digital Also on BizTech: An appealing sector Entertainment: Everything • Enterprise that can ao • Small Business That's what appeals to Jay Grossman, a partner in • Free newsletters Boston's ABRY Partners and one of WideOpenWest's `A'rong... initial $50 million backers, along with equal partner Oak • TH E WEEK Click~herefni7s Hill Capital Partners of Fort Worth, Texas. AHEAD a+ -, "This sector is appealing because when you do the InV25tOr5 ~ J economic analysis of potential revenue streams with brace for likely two or three [services) rather than one, the overbuild " pullback arnnnmir. Saams to wnrk C;rnaaman savs ZDNet; Inier@ctive Week: Cable Overbuilding May Be Smart After All wysiwyg://77/http://www.zdnel.c...ies/news/0,4164,2438~23,OO.html Adver"tisenien"t Print Subscriptions Apply For A FREE Subscription Customer Service Advertising Supplements CTI Trends Web Host Guild Related Sites Investor PC Week SmCcDrt Reseller ZDNN Also on the overbuild march is Knology Holdings • Info rte ]Un'1pS {www.knology.com), which provides bundled 153 percent communications in seven Southeastern markets. MARKET Knology recent announced plans to construct a $75 million broadband network in Knoxville, Tenn., to CLOSE: Dark compete against BellSouth {www.bellsouth.com) and day On Wdl two cable operators. Street "The fact that we offer bundled services makes the 2HRS2G0: economics work," says Taylor Nipper, senior director of In ram Mi o marketing at Knology. "In the old model, it was just g cr cable against cable, and the penetration numbers you faints unclear needed to succeed weren't realistic." ICtUre Knology has found that its local and long-distance phone service is the lead product, with television and Internet service following. "Our business case says it's cheaper to build a brand new network than to buy and upgrade an existing cable-only company," Nipper says. I(dW E-MAIL ALERT Want to stay on top of all the news and special features on Inter@ctive Week Online? Then subscribe to the I@W E-Mail Alert. _ -. _..._ Western Integrated Networks has also joined in. After reportedly raising more than $450 million, it is seeking a franchise in Dallas to compete against AT&T. Western , Integrated also hopes to provide service in Austin, Texas, San Diego and Sacramento, Calif. Focus On » Maverick roots Mark Haverkate is no stranger to the cable overbuilding game. He started WideOpenWest after leaving the executive ranks of RCN, which has built itself into a successful overbuild operation. RCN, which started out offering competitive cable, phone and Internet access service in New York City, has built a formidable presence in Boston and Washington, D.C., and is moving into new markets including Chicago, Philadelphia and the San Francisco/Silicon Valley region. When Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's Vulcan Ventures invested $1.65 billion in RCN last fall, it brought to $3.8 billion the available cash and capital for the company's expansion plans. WideOpenWest Internet firm sets its sights on Houston Feb, 23, 2000, 9:45PM Internet firm sets its sights on Houston WideOpenWest seeks digital cable TV permit By DWIGHT SILVERMAN Copyright 2000 Houston Chronicle http://www.wideopenwest.com/news/houston 1.htm Houston-area residents will have a choice of cable television providers and a new source of high-speed Internet access if the city approves a franchise application from asecond-generation cable TV company. WideOpenWest has asked the city of Houston for permission to begin building a digital cable TV system that would offer super-fast cable-modem Net access. The Denver-based company is negotiating with city officials over details of a franchise, and that agreement must then be approved by City Council. The entire process could take as long as three months, said Jacqueline Croy, assistant director of administrative services with the city. If successful, WideOpenWest would be the first large-scale cable TV operation to launch areawide since Time Warner Communications and TCI were granted separate franchises in the 1970s to serve different parts of the city. Time Time Warner has limited competition from small cable companies, such as Phonoscope and Optel, which serve niche markets. It also faces increasing competition from digital satellite services, such as DirecTV and the Dish Network. WideOpenWest will emphasize its high-speed Internet access, which promises to be, at a minimum, much faster than the top speeds offered by Time Warner's RoadRunner service. "Our network is really designed to provide the best Internet connection available," said Mark Haverkate, WideOpenWest's chief executive. "The same network just also happens to be excellent for providing cable TV service as well." Julia McGrath, senior vice president and general manager for WideOpenWest's southern division, said building the company's mostly fiber optic network will cost about $650 million. Some customers could see service a year after the franchise is approved, but McGrath said it likely will take 5 to 6 oininn ~~.~n nnn WideOpenWesf Internet firm sets its sights on Houston htip://www.wideopenwest.com/news/houston i .him 1/2 years to complete abuild-out of the entire metropolitan Houston area. McGrath said WideOpenWest will offer an 80-channel cable TV service that will use standard analog technology as its base offering. It also will have a 350-channel digital cable TV service. She said the service will offer all the cable TV channels familiar to subscribers, such as CNN and the Weather Channel, as well as premium services such as HBO. "We will also offer video on demand," she said, referring to a service that allows customers to watch movies via cable TV whenever they choose. WideOpenWest also will offer Internet access via cable modem. But unlike Time Warner's RoadRunner, which does not allow for a choice of Internet providers, WideOpenWest will allow other providers to plug into its network. "Our network is being designed from the ground up to be open. We will have space in our facilities for other providers to set up their hardware," McGrath said. Traditional cable TV operators only recently have offered cable modem service, which is much faster than the standard dialup modem most people use to get online. The cable industry has balked at calls from consumer groups and competitors to open their networks to competing Internet providers. Established cable companies say technological limitations and the large sums of money spent to upgrade their systems make it difficult to open them up to competitors. McGrath said plans call for WideOpenWest to allow national and regional providers, such as MindSpring and America Online, initial access to its facilities, and then allow smaller and local operators access. She said the company plans to promise Internet subscribers minimum connection speeds of 3 megabits per second. Time Warner's RoadRunner currently caps its service at a maximum of 2 mbps. Although RoadRunner's marketing materials make no minimum-speed promises, its executives have said in the past that they strive for minimum speeds comparable to an ISDN phone line, or 128 kilobits a second. By contrast, a standard telephone modem can connect at a maximum speed Consumers who crave faster Net access could benefit from a bandwidth war. "We would stay competitive," Time Warner spokeswoman Kimberly Maki said. "If someone came into the market with 3 megabits, we might just do them one better." a/n/nn t t~ t o ann WideOpenWest Internet firm sets its sights on Houston http://www.wideopenwest.com/news/housfon t .htm In the long term, WideOpenWest plans to offer local and long-distance phone services over its network. Mark Steinkirchner, vice president of marketing, said WideOpenWest will use a technology that also is used to transmit information over the Internet for its phone service. Although Internet-based phone service is already available, it is not considered as clear-sounding or reliable as traditional service. Steinkirchner said WideOpenWest is waiting for technology to improve before deciding to offer it. "I think it's going to happen," he said. Company officials acknowledged that, with its sprawling layout, Houston is a logistical challenge when it comes to building a new cable system. Time Warner, for example, has more than 14,000 miles of cable strung in the area. In addition, many of the city's utility lines are underground, which means more streets may have to be torn up to install WideOpenWest's lines. WideOpenWest has applied for cable franchises in other Texas cities, including Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio. It recently was granted a franchise for the unincorporated areas of Jefferson County, Colo., around Denver. McGrath said she also is in franchise discussions with city officials in the smaller, incorporated cities around Houston. Maki said her company welcomes competition, but wants a "fair playing field." "We would just be concerned, in going through the franchise process, that WideOpenWest would meet all the franchise obligations of the city, as we must do," Maki said. The privately owned company is financed primarily by Oak Hill Capital, an investment firm founded by Robert Bass of the Fort Worth Bass family. It is one of several next-generation cable TV operations that have risen to challenge veteran companies such as Time Warner. In the past, the concept of entering a cable TV market and building a new network from scratch was "anathema," said Kent Gibbons, news editor at Multichannel News, a cable TV trade publication. "It is prohibitively expensive if your only revenue comes from cable TV," Gibbons said. 'J NOTICE OF INTENT TO FRANCHISE CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, MINNESOTA The City of Columbia Heights, Minnesota (the "City"} is hereby soliciting applications from qualified entities that are interested in constructing a cable system and providing cable service within the territorial limits of the City. Notarized applications that contain all of the information required by Mimr. Stat. § 238.081, Subd. 4 and local policies and procedures, and that comply with all state and local requirements must be received by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, May 26, 2000, at City of Columbia Heights, 590 40"' Avenue NE, Columbia Heights, MN 55421, Atha: Linda Magee. Each franchise application must be accompanied by an application fee in the amount of $20,000. This fee shall be paid to the City via a certified check made payable to the City of Columbia Heights. Every franchise proposal submitted by an applicant must include a design for astate-of- the-art cable system that is capable of reliably providing a panoply of cable services to subscribers. In reviewing each applicant's franchise application, the City will consider all relevant factors, including, but not limited to: (i) comparisons of the level, quality and nature of cable services proposed by the applicant to that provided by the incumbent cable system operator; (ii) the cable-related needs and interests of the community, as identified solely by the City; and (iii) information regarding industry trends, state-of--the-art technologies, modern cable services and other related information. The City will hold a public hearing to consider any franchise applications it receives at 7:00 pm on July 10, 2000, at City of Columbia Heights, 590 40"' Avenue NE, Columbia Heights, MN. All questions concerning the franchising process and any requests for information should be directed to Linda Magee, 590 40"' Avenue NE, Columbia Heights, MN (763} 706-3609. ISSUED BY THE CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, MINNESOTA Walter Fehst, City Manager Publish: Focus News, May 4 & 11, 2000. G:~AdminW olicco0ntenllnPranchise4-5-00. wpd ~,,,-, CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS Mayor Gary L. Peterson Councilmembers 590 40TH AVENUE N.E., CoEUMeIA HEIGHTS, MN 55427 -3878 (612) 782-2800 TDD 782-2806 John A. Hunter Donald G. Jolly Marlaine Szurek Julienne Wyckoff City Manager ADMINISTRATION Walter R. Fehst PLEASE NOTE: CITY HALL PHONE NUMBERS HAVE CHANGED, NEw NUMBERS ARE: MAIN NUMBER (612) 7063600; TDD (612) 706-3692 March 22, 2000 Kathi Donnelly-Cohen Director- Goverment Affairs Media One 10 River Park Plaza St. Paul, MN 55107 Dear Kathi: Pursuant to previous conversations you have had with Linda Magee, Assistant to the City Manager, this is to serve as written notification to hereby extend the date for submittal of the subscriber survey results to June 1, 2000. As was discussed at the Telecommunications Commission meeting of March 16, 2000, I am amenable to using an on-line subscriber survey for 2000. However, this will be done on a trial basis with the continuance of this method being reviewed, in part, based on level of subscribers participating in the survey. Should you have any questions, please contact Linda Magee. Sincerely, Walter R. Fehst City Manager cb c: Linda L. Magee, Assistant to the City Manager THE CITY OF COLl1MBIA HEIGHTS DOES NOT OISCRI MINATE ON THE BgS15 OF DISg81 LITV IN EM PLOVMENT OR THE PROVISION OF SERVICES EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER N .it. H THE CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, MINNESOTA POLICIES AND PROCEDURES GOVERNING APPLICATION, REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING GRANT OF COMPETITIVE CABLE FRANCHISES Preamble The City of Columbia Heights ("City") administers the cable television Franchise between the City and the current cable franchisee. The City requested, reviewed and considered the applications of the initial prospective cable franchisees and issued a cable Franchise, Modern telecommunications policy, law and regulations encourage the emergence of competition in all telecommunications markets. Increased competition in the provision of all telecommunications services is expected, including in the provision of cable television service. The emergence of such competition could increase the quality and availability of enhanced telecommunications services via Cable Systems, encourage lower rates, encourage better customer service, and generally benefit consumers. Policies and procedures regarding application for and review of Applications for competitive cable Franchises will streamline the processing of requests to provide such competitive telecommunications services. In view ofthe foregoing, the City has formulated policies and procedures for application and review of Applications for competitive Franchises with the City. Pursuant to these policies and procedures the City has delineated the information which must be provided in an Application for a competitive Franchise, detailed aprocess for review of such Application and negotiation ofthe terms of the Franchise agreement, and provided for the presentation of a formal recommendation regarding the grant of such Franchise to the City. Section 1. Definitions "Applicant" shall mean a Cable Company that files an Application with the City. "Application" shall mean the information, documentation, and data, of the form and substance required herein, filed by a Cable Company with the City requesting the City's consideration regarding any recommendation to grant a competitive Franchise. "Application Fee" shall mean a fee which is intended to cover all costs incurred by the City related to processing Applications up to and including the grant of a Franchise (if any) including, but not limited to, staff and attorney's time in reviewing and considering an Application and related information, negotiating the terms and conditions of Franchises, and preparing recommendations, Franchises and other documentation related to such Application. "Cable Company" shall mean airy person or entity owning a significant interest in, controlling, operating, managing or leasing a Cable System (or any components thereof in the Public Rights-of- Way) within the state or any parson seeking a Franchise to do so. "Cable Service" shall mean (1) the one-way transmission to Subscribers of video programming or other programming services; and (2) Subscriber interaction, if any, which is required for the selection or use of such video programming or other programming services. For purposes of these Policies and Procedures, "Cable Service" includes, but is not limited to, the provision of Internet service over a Cable System. "Cable System" shall mean the facility of a Cable Company consisting of a set of closed transmission paths and associated signal generation, reception and control equipment that is designed to provide Cable Service, which includes video programming and which is provided to maltiple Subscribers within the City, but such term does not include: (1) a facility that only serves to retransmit the television signals ofone or more television broadcast stations; (2) a facility that serves Subscribers without using any Public Rights-of--Way; (3) a facility of a common carrier which is subject, in whole or in part, to thepr•ovisions ofTitle IT ofthe Communications Act, except that such facility shall be considered a System if such facility is used in the transmission of video programming directly to Subscribers, unless the extent of such use is solely to provide interactive on-demand services; (4) an open video system that complies with 47 U.S.C. § 573; (5) any facilities of any electric utility used solely for operating its electric utility system; or (6) a translator system which receives and rebroadcasts over-the-air signals. A reference to a Cable System in these Policies and Procedures refers to any part of such System including, without limitation, converters, The foregoing definition of"System" shall not be deemed to circumscribe or limit the valid authority of the City to regulate or franchise the activities of any other communications system or provider of commrmications service to the fidf extent permitted by law. "Franchise" shall mean any nonexclusive authorization granted by the City in the form of a Franchise, privilege, permit, license or other municipal authorization to construct, own, control, operate, rnaintain, or manage a Cable System within the Public Rights-of--Way to provide Cable Service within the City. "hrstitutional Network" shall mean a discrete communications network provided by a Cable Company to institutions designated by the City, as provided in a Franchise ordinance. "Policies and Procedures" shall mean these policies and procedures governing the City's processing of Applications for Franchises. "Public Rights-of--Way" shall mean the surface, the air space above the surface, and the area below the surface of any public street, highway, lane, path, alley, sidewalk, avenue, boulevard, drive, concourse, bridge, tumrel, park, parkway, waterway, dock, bulkhead, wharf, pier, easement or similar property or waters within the City in which the City now or hereafter holds any property interest, including, but not limited to, any riparian right, which, consistent with the purposes for which it was created, obtained or dedicated, may be used for the purpose of installing, operating and maintaining a Cable System. No reference in these Policies and Procedures to a "Public Right-of--Way" shall be deemed to be a representation or guarantee by the City that its interest in or other right to control the use of such property is sufficient to permit use ofthe property for the purpose of installing, operating and maintaining a Cable System. "Subscriber" shall mean any person or entity who receives service via a Cable System. Tn the case of multiple office buildings or multiple dwelling units, the term "Subscriber" means the lessee, tenant or occupant. Section 2. Applicability of Policies and Procedures These Policies and Procedures apply to every Cable System and every Cable Company, including a Cable Company which constructs, operates and/or maintains a Cable System or provides Cable Service in whole or in part through facilities owned, controlled, managed or operated by another provider, that seeks to operate within the territorial limits of the City. Authority; Minn. Stet. § 238.03 Section 3. Franchise requirement Subd. 1. In accordance with state and federal law, the City shall require a Franchise of any Cable Company or Cable System providing Cable Service within the municipality. Subd. 2. Nothing in these Policies and Procedures shall be constnted to limit City authority to construct, purchase, and operate a Cable System or otherwise to provide any telecommunications or Cable Services either for internal municipal purposes or for sale to the public. Authority: Minn. Star. § 238.08 Section 4. Application for Franchise Subd 1. In the event the City receives notice that a Cable Company is interested in applying for a Franchise, the City shall publish notice of intent to Franchise within a reasonable time and in accordance with Minn. Stet. § 238.081, Subd. 1, which requires publishing notice of intent to Franchise each week for two successive weeks, allowance of 20 days from initial publication for submission of Applications and a public hearing at least seven days before introduction of the Franchise into proceedings of the City. Subd. 2. Review of Applications. Applications for a competitive Franchise shall contain such information as is required below in these Policies and Procedures and shall be submitted to the City. Review by the City of any Applications pursuant to these Policies and Procedures and final determination by the City regarding whether to Franchise such Applicant(s) may be based on any relevant factors. Such relevant factors may include comparisons of the level and quality and nature of Cable Services proposed by the Applicant to that provided by the incumbent Cable Company, the needs and interests of the community and institutions, as identified solely by the City, and information regarding industry trends, state of the art technologies, services and other related information. Subd. 3. Public Heating on Applications. A public hearing before the City affording reasonable notice and a reasonable opportunity to be heard with respect to an Application shall be scheduled in accordance with Mitm. Stat. § 238.081, Subd. 6. Subd. 4. Negotiation of Franchise Tetras, During the period prior to the public hearing on the Application, the responsible City employee(s) and Applicant may negotiate specific Franchise terms and conditions for recommendation and presentation to the City. In addition, doting this period the responsible City employee(s) shall review the Application and may request such additional information necessary to make final recommendations to the City. Subd. 5. Determinations. Determinations by the responsible City employee(s) regarding the qualifications of Appficant(s) and recommendations to the City regarding grant of a Franchise shall be made based on information provided by the Applicant as required herein and such other information which the responsible City employee(s) deem relevant in their sole discretion. The responsible City employee(s) may, in their sole discretion, consider information developed during any negotiations with the Applicant and any information or evidence adduced by the incumbent Cable Company. After the public hearing referenced in Subd. 3, the responsible City employee(s) shall issue written recommendations to the City regarding such Application. These recommendations may include a Franchise document for adoption by the City. Subd. 6. Award of Franchise. A Franchise maybe awarded only by an ordinance adopted by the City. Subd. 7. Costs of Reviewing Application and Issuing Franchise. The Applicant shall pay the Application Fee required below. The Application Fee is required for the purpose ofreimbursing the City fot• all costs associated with processing Applications pursuant to these Policies and Procedures tlu•ough and including any granting of a Franchise. Any portion of the Application Fee which remains after payment of all the City's costs will be reimbursed to the Applicant. Should the Application Fee not cover the expenses of the City, those unreimbursed expenses shall be reimbursed prior to any consideration of the Franchise by the City. A successful Applicant shall be fully responsible to reimburse the City for all costs of awarding the Franchise. Subd. 8. Franchising nonprofit or municipally-owned system. Nothing contained in this Section prohibits the City from fi•anchisiug a nonprofit or municipally-owned system. The municipality or nonprofit entity shall be consideted au Applicant subject to these Policies and Procedures. Authority: Mimt. Stat. § 238.081 4 Sectim~ 5. Informatiou Required in Application. An Application for a competitive Franchise must be signed by an authorized officer or principle of the Cable Company and be notarized and must include at least the following: (1) A statement that the Applicant seeks to construct a Cable System and to provide Cable Services within the City; (2) the narne, street address, e-mail address and telephone number of the individuals who are authorized to provide and certify information on behalf of the Applicant; (3) plans for analog and digital channel capacity, including both the total number of analog and digital chamrels capable of being energized in the system and the number of analog and digital chamrels to be energized immediately; (4) a statement of the television and radio signals for which permission to carry will be requested from the Federal Communications Commission, or any other required regulatory agency; (5) a description ofthe proposed system design and planned operation, including at least the following items: (i) the general area for location of antennae and the head end, or description of programming delivery plan if otherwise; (ii) the schedule for activating two-way capacity and any other system capacity to be activated in conjunction with the Cable Systern; (iii) the type of autornated services to be provided; (iv) the minimum number of video channels, other Cable Services, and other kinds of services to be made available to residents; (v) the number of channels and services to be made available for community/access programming; arrd (vi) a plan for funding of facilities and staff for community/access programming and/or a plan for interconnection and provision of such programming in cooperation with the incumbent Cable Company. (6) plans for the provision of Institutional Network capacity and services or other "in- kind" services and the teens, conditions and technical standards under which particular service is to be provided to governmental, educational, and other institutional entities; (7) a list of all institutions receiving Institutional Network service; (8) a schedule ofpr•oposed rates in relation to the services to be provided, and a proposed policy regarding unusual or difficult connection of services; (9) a time schedule for construction of the entire system with the time sequence for wiring the various parts of the area to be served; (10) information supporting and indicating the applicant's financial, technical and legal qualifications and experience in the cable comrnurrications field, if any; (11) an identification ofthe municipalities in which the applicant either owns or operates a Cable Systern, directly or• indirectly, or has outstanding Franchises for which no system has been built; 5 (12) detailed plans for financing of the proposed system, which must indicate every significant anticipated source ofcapital and significantlimitations or conditions with respect to the availability of the indicated sources ofcapital; (13) a statement of ownership detailing the corporate organization of the applicant, if any, including the names and addresses of officers and directors and the number of shares held by each officer or director, and inhacompany relationship including a parent, subsidiary or affiliated company; (14) a statement of a form and substance acceptable to the City indemnifying the City fully against any claims or liabilities alleged as the result of City's exercise of these Policies and Procedures including any such claims or liabilities alleged or asserted by the incumbent Cable Company; (15) an agreement to pay the City a Franchise fee in the same percentage of gross revenues as the incumbent providers; (16) a notation and explanation of omissions or other variations with respect to the requirements of the Application; and (17) submission of an Application Fee in the amount of $20,000. Authority: Mirm. Stat. § 238.081, Subd. 2 and 4. Adopted by the Cohrmbia Heights City Council, April , 2000. 6 i' ~< <~-, i ;;a ;~' ,; ~ ~~.!_ , ~; •_~~_ ~ ~,.: ~" , -,~.r '? .y ~~ `.~~~\ l+i~~ 3., 7, l'~ ~,t'L. ~ - ,~~ ; WHO: To MACTA members WHAT: MACTA Legislative Issues Luncheon WHEN: Friday, May 5, 2000 11:30 am - 2:00 pm z 0 0 m ~~ ~ ~n m _o ~ ~' ~~ ~~ a~ a ~ 7 ~ o /. U V ~ ~, '" o ~ ~ .. a r ~_ S LL" a _ _ w .x .- ,_>.,: z ~~_ ~~ ~~_ - ~ .__ T ~ - Y O --~ ~-+ P G U of Ci U a N .~ ca o h ~ bA N N a v; H~ m Q y Holiday Inn Minneapolis West Minneapolis, MN WHERE: Holiday Inn Minneapolis West 9970 Wayzata Boulevard Minneapolis, MN 55426 612-593-1918 COST: $25 if registration is received by April 24 $35'rfregistration is received after April 24 PROGRAM: 11:30 ButfetLunch 12:15 Speaker Presentation: 2:00 Adjourn Please join us on Friday, May 5, for a special luncheon that will focus on: • What happened to the proposals for telecommunications restructuring during the recent legislative session. • What we need to do to prepare for next year's session and beyond. SPEAKERS: Thomas Creighton, Attorney at Law Bernick & Lifson Sarah B. Janecek, MACTA Lobbyist Spano &Janecek Registration is $25 before April 24, or $35 after April 24. "No Shows" will be billed. Cancellation: Registration fee less a $10 administrative charge can be refunded up to 72 hours prior to the seminar. No refund for cancellation notice less than 72 hours. MEETING LOCATION: Holiday Inn Minneapolis West 9970 Wayzata Boulevard Minneapolis, MN 55426 612-593-1918 DIRECTIONS: Wyman L. Spano, MACTA Lobbyist From I-394 take the Hopkins Crossroad exit Spano &Janecek and turn north to the frontage road. Turn right (East) onto the frontage road, and the Holiday Inn is between Shelard Parkway and Ford Road. MAIL REGISTRATION FORM TO: MACTA 1711 W. County Road B, Suite 300N Roseville, MN 55113-4036 Phone: 651-635-0306 Fax: 651-635-0307 ~ o .~ m ~ 4 ~m is v'~ V ~ .~ q o '~ ~~_ o '^ a o ~ N a ~, i~ ~ _3 ~ N N L .~ N N C u N ~ m m c E m- "_ ~ a oda~ o E m m d ~a~a 000 A 0 N a = h C3' ~ Q a ~ m m ~~ ~ m y :t •`y^ N N O Q ~ ~"~ ~ ~ .. d C :7 ^ 'd- m = d ~ a [a~ E a v` y. >. X E w Z O Q U O ti w ~ °~ ABOUT THE PROGRAM REGISTRATION: 04/11/00 19:19 FAX 012 572 8980 bIER.CABLE/Co.HTS ® A ^w I Yhl~ h 8roed6a~ 1Lia b d~c wey. I i i PROGRAMS -March 2000 Programs: Heigitrts Calendar (42:00) Light On Phe Gospe! (2 Programs)(60:00) Lord Jesus CHrlst Cablecast (2 Programs):(58:00) i I IMF Video Projects: (3 programs) IMF;Changing Role For A Changing World West Africa;Fabric of Reform East Africa;Pathway io Grawih Washington Report (30:01) ' DPL Live (29:13) 1 Love to Read Month (42:23) ' Anaka County Today (2Programs) 29:00 CH School Board Mtg. (2:07:50) Lave Power (4 programs) 60:00 ' The LaRouche Connection (3 Programs] 58:30 Programming Staffs: Columbia Heights / Hilltop studio CABLECAST PROGRAMS 74 CABLECAST HOURS 80 PROGRAMS PRODUCeD-w/o Sian` Help 1 PROGRAMS PRODUCED(S) 3 PROGRAMS (Produced Outside the Studio) 16 PROGRAMS TOTAL 22 PROGRAMS HOURS 17:04:00 PROGRAMS (Outside) 16 PROGRAMS HOURS (Outside) 11:32:50 STUDIO HOURS PROvUCTION 21 SVHS EDITING (Control Rm.) 29 STUDIO HOURS Meeting 2 STUDIO HOURS TOTAL 52 CAdriCORDER Check Outs 4 (S)!!HS EDIT/Pinnacle GeniePlus (Hours) 14 Facility Hours Available 100 ~ 001 ~2~ CURRENT RATES -COLUMBIA HEIGHTS APRIL 2000 -Upgrade Activated SERVICE RATE FRANCHISE FEE UNIVERSAL SERVICE NC O BASIC SERVICE 7.93 .42 PREFERRED SERVICE 23.57 1.24 CONVERTER 2.66 .14 REMOTE CONTROL .47 .02 PREMIUM SERVICES: HBO/HB02 10.95 .58 SHOWTIME 10.95 .58 CINEMAX 10.95 .58 ~ i THE MOVIE CHANNEL 10.95 .58 PREMIUM PACKAGES: NexTV Plus -HBO, HBO Plus, Starz!, Encore, and NexTV Standard 19.95 1,05 NexTV Select- HBO, HBO Plus, Starz!, En core, Cinemax and NexTV Standard 24.95 1.31 NexTV Preferred - HBO, HBO Plus, Starz!, Encore, Cinemax , Showti me, The Movie Channel and NexTV Standard 29.95 1.57 HSD - MediaOne RoadRunner If a cable subscriber 39.95 2.10 if not a cable subscriber 49.95 2.62 PAY-PER-VIEW MOVIES: CABLE PLUS MOVIE 3.95 .21 ADULT PAY-PER-VIEW (per evening, not event) 9.95 .52 MONTHLY GUIDE 2.50 .13 SERVICE FEES: LABOR IS CHARGED ON A PER HOUR BASIS PLUS MATERIALS AND FRANCHISE FEES SERVICE CALL 31.95 1.68 CABLECARE/PER OUTLET 60 .03 CHANGE OF SERVICE FEE W/o visit to home 1.99 .10 CHANGE OF SERVICE FEE W/home visit 31.95 1.68 LATE FEE 5.00 .26 RETURN CHECK CHARGE 20.00 1.05 Channel Line-up for Columbia Heights/Hilltop April 2000 Universal Service Basic Service Preferred Service 15 -PUBLIC ACCESS `2 - KTCA (PBS) 24 - OVC 54 -NICKELODEON 16-GOVERNMENT ACCESS 3-TV GUIDE CHANNEL 25-ESPN 55-CARTOON NETWORK 18 - EDUCATIONAL ACCESS `4 - WCCO 26 - ESPN2 56 -ANIMAL PLANET 19 -LIBRARY ACCESS `5 - KSTP 27 -MSC 57 -FOX FAMILY 6 -METRO 6 28 - SPEEDVISION 58 - C-SPAN 7 - KPXM 29 -ESPN CLASSIC 60 -COURT /GAME SHOW 8-KMWB(WB23) 30-GOLF CHANNEL 62-TNN '9 - KMSP 31 -CNN 63-GREAT AMERICAN COUNTRY *10 - WFTC 32 -HEADLINE NEWS 64 - VH-1 `11 - KARE 33 - CNBC 65 -MTV '12-KVMB 34-FOX NEWS 66-BET *13-M1TV 35-WEATHER CHANNEL 67-ROMANCE CLASSICS OPTIONAL SERVICES: 17-KTCI 36-A&E 70-SNEAK PREVIEW 68 -HBO 20 - C-SPAN11 37 -THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL 69 -HBO PLUS 21- BRAVO 38-THE HISTORY CHANN EL 71 - CINEMAX 22-TBS 39-THE LEARNING CHAN NEL 72 - STARZ! 23-WGN 40-AMC 73-ENCORE 98-EWTN/INSP 41-TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES 74 - SHOWTIME 99-UNIVISION 42-TRAVEL CHANNEL 75 -THE MOVIE CHANNEL 43 -LIFETIME 76 -PPV 44 -FOOD NETWORK 77 PPV 45-HGTV 78 -PPV 46-USA 47-TNT 48 - fX 49 -SCI-FI-CHANNEL 50-COMEDY CENTRAL 51-E! 52 - TV LAND 53 -DISNEY CHANNEL MQNTfILY CONSQtIQATE© TECHNICAL REPORT Apr-OQ Golu bi ; H is Jan-00 Feb-00 Mar-00 Apr-00 May-00 Jun-00 Jul-00 Aug-00 Sep-00 Oct-00 Nov-00 Dec-00 System Specific Activity ' ''~ Installs 55 77 84 ' I Service calls 195 '~ 174 139 ~' Service calls completed 96451 83591 7,957 ~ On-Time Guarantee rate 96.90% 97.70% 99.00% ~' ' Creditslssued ' 3031 1941, 77 ,. Installations completed 5047 5434 69071 ~ i On-Time Guarantee rate 94.20% 98.10% 95.90% I Credits Issued 544 314 1241 Home 37921 3782'i 3469 Equipment 13111 11081 921 I Controllable I 26501 20591 2050 I Plant 672' 496' 509 urn Over 940 672 683', No Truck 128 75 1701 ' ~' Other 152 167 1551 ~I :,. : ,: ::.. Trunk Outages by,System '~ i ~' Columbia Heights ', 2 0. 0 ~i Amplifier Blown Fuse Connector I 1' Cut Cable Fiber/Headend Power Supply I ~ I '' System Maintenance ~' Utility Power Outage Weather 1 '~ ' ~, ~~ Col Heights Tech Report 04/03/2000 Date COLUMBIA HEIGHTS DETAILED OUTAGE REPORT Time Cause Minutes Mar-00 Average Subs Affected 6516350307 OFFICE ENTERPRI. INC 765 P02 RPR 10 '00 16:24 (~ C:~ MAC 1 A LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Apri14, 2000 What's Happening As reported in the March 6 Update, in recognition that none of the proposed telecommunications restructuring bills were likely to pass this year, Senator Steve Kelley had successfully introduced a "delete everything" amendment to SF 2919, which was the legislation drafted by the Ventura administration. The new language would have established a work group, convened and facilitated by an administrative law judge, to develop legislation reforming the state's telecommunications laws for introduction in 2001. On the House side, the Regulated Industries Sub-Committee held hearings on the various bills; however, Representative Ken Wolf, the committee chair, was unwilling to accept Senator Kelley's bill amendment. Early last week, Senator Kelley raised the task force concept again by attaching it to a House bill on depreciation of telecommunications infrastructure. According to our lobbyist, Wy Spano, the amendment is opposed by the bill's House author, Rep. Greg Davids. Because of his opposition and because the Senate author, Senator Novak, feels less strongly about the task force, the provision is likely to be dropped in conference committee. In addition, the Ramsey (Washington Counties Suburban Cable Communications Commission introduced a bill prepared by the Bernick & Lifson law firm. Mike Bradley from Bernick & Lifson said the bill, which was y introduced after committee deadlines had passed, was intended to be "place holder" in the event Senator Kelley's work group was approved. What We Are Doina The MALTA Legislative Committee is focusing on its strategy for next year. Using the bill prepared by Bernick & Lifson for the Ramsey-Washington Commission as a starting point, we are beginning to identify issues and concerns that we would want to address in any legislation we might introduce during the 2001 legislative session. Much of the Ramsey- Washington legislation brings Chapter 238 into compliance with federal law, 6516350307 OFFICE ENTERPRI. INC 765 P03 RPR 10 '00 16 24 but there are some topics that the Legislative Committee believes could be expanded and some new issues that need to be addressed. We also want to come up with creative, workable ideas for addressing the rural-urban telecommunications gap. In order to provide further updates in our legislative activities and to seek input from MACTA members, wo are having another Legislative Luncheon on May 5 at the Holiday Inn Minneapolis West. In addition to hearing from lobbyists Wy Spano and Sarah Janacek, Tom Creighton will keynote the event. But an important part of the luncheon will be round-table discussions facilitated by members of the Legislative Committee to solicit your ideas and feedback. We are also planning a summer seminar/retreat at Arrowwood Resort near Alexandria in July. In addition to some presentations on now technologies, such as wireless, we plan to use this opportunity to refine our legislative plans for the 2001 session. The seminar is scheduled for a Monday and Tuesday, July 17 and 18, and, again, I hope some of you will be able to attend. Look for the brochure in the mail toward the beginning of May. What You Can Do 1. Attend the Legislative Luncheon on Friday, May 5. 2. Plan to attend the summer seminar in July. (Look for the brochure in tho mail soon.) 3. Provide us with critical teedback, as well as ideas, for addressing our communities' cable and telecommunications needs. Note: If you want a copy of the Ramsey-Washington legislation IHF 4049/SF 3634-, you can download it over the Internet at www.revisor.ieg.mn.us. You can also call the MACTA office (651-635- 0306), Mike Bradley (612-546-12001, or Tim Finnerty at the Ramsey- Washington Commission (651-779-7144j. J Check Date: OS.Apr.2000 Check No. 0058085 MEDIAONE 7800 Belforl Parkway Jacksonville, FL 32256-6925 Invoice Number Invoice Dale Voucher H) Gross Amount Discount Available Paid Amount AFP040100 O1.Apr.2000 00149708 30,271.21 0.00 30,271.21 Franchise Fees a ~aQ'D ~,,,'`~~ ~ gas. 00, - - - ~_-_; ~, qq~,~~~ °, -~ . YSi t ** Misc Revenue Vendor Number Name t u GR 38r2~1.P1 0000008328 CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS .0 ' Check Number Date Pa menl Handlin Total Amount Discounts Taken Total Paict Amount 0058085 OS.Apr.2000 Ol $30,271.21 $0.00 $30,271.21 L Franchise Fee Payment Worksheet Paid Quarterly GAN MediaOne Columbia Heights 10 River Park Plaza St.Paul, MN 55107. 651-312-5000 -Contact: Kathi Donnelly-Cohen REVENUE SOURCE CASH RECEIPTS INSTALLATION 29,443.20 BASIC/PREFERRED 424,874.93 CABLEGUIDE 7,468.16 CABLECARE 2,597.47 HBO 21,117.06 CINEMAX 7,462.53 THE MOVIE CHANNEL 4,849.06 SHOWTIME 11,536.79 PAY PER VIEW 9,761'39 STARZ/ENCORE /MUSIC 5,419.67 HSD 17,993.30 IPG 1,569.56 REMOTE LEASE 3,635.20 CONVERTER LEASE 2,339.97 LATE FEES & FRANCHISE FEES 39,985.11 ADVERTISING" 18,813.96 SHOPPING"' 2,217.19 BAD DEBT (5,660.29) TOTAL 605,424.26 FRAN FEE DUE 30,271.21