City introduces three 10‑year fiber franchise ordinances

Deputy City Attorney Christina Shook told the Committee of the Whole on May 5 that the city will introduce three separate ordinances to grant nonexclusive 10‑year fiber franchises. Under state law these ordinances are introduced at one meeting and may be adopted at a later date; the ordinances are scheduled for introduction now and adoption on May 19.

Shook said federal law requires cities to treat similar providers equivalently, so the draft franchise terms are standard across the three providers: authorization to install facilities in the public right‑of‑way, relocation and restoration requirements for road projects, and protections for the city’s right‑of‑way investments.

The three franchises introduced were:
- Ordinance No. 4538 to grant a nonexclusive 10‑year franchise to Intermountain Infrastructure Group LLC for backbone fiber infrastructure (not retail service).
- Ordinance No. 4539 to grant a nonexclusive 10‑year franchise to NSE Northwest LLC (a partner with Ziply) where NFC/NSE will own the infrastructure and Ziply will provide customer service.
- Ordinance No. 4540 to grant a nonexclusive 10‑year franchise to Mashell Telecom Inc., d/b/a LightCurve, for telecommunications and Internet access services.

Each motion to introduce the ordinance was read and approved by voice vote; Shook said the items will appear on the council consent calendar for adoption on May 19. She reminded council that state and federal law constrain local franchise terms and that many routine provisions are required by statute.

The introductions do not grant construction rights or final terms until adoption and final franchise documents are executed. Councilmember(s) had no substantive objections during the introductions.

Next steps: ordinances appear on the May 19 consent calendar for adoption; final franchise agreements will be executed subject to the city attorney’s review.