Agenda - 03-07-2019 6-a - Broadband Initiatives Update and Approval of Proposed Agreement with Open Broadband for Wireless Broadband Appurtenances on County Facilities

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3 broadband equipment on any new towers to be constructed by Orange County. Discussions also included how both the County's telecommunication and fiber plans have synergies that may decrease long range costs and offer a more secure and reliable fiber connection to each proposed tower location. • July 2016 — Former Governor Pat McCrory released the NC broadband strategy report. No funding identified within this report for broadband improvements. • May 2016 — The County's public network buildout was completed in downtown Hillsborough and all County-occupied buildings. • March 2016 —WiFi-to-Go pilot began via collaboration by IT and the County Library. • March 2016 — The State assisted Orange County with identifying vertical assets - understanding the location and availability of county-wide vertical assets is important to businesses that want to bring wireless internet services into Orange County. • December 2015 — An ISP meeting on State/County collaboration occurred. • Late 2015 — The Orange Public + Education Network (OPEN) formed to foster collaboration and cost-sharing among Orange County and its municipalities. • August 2015 — The County's Broadband Survey closed. • June 2015 — The County's Broadband Survey was released. • April 2015 — The Broadband Initiative resident group was formed. • November 2014 — The Manager directed County staff to make a concerted effort to engage residents in broadband discussions. • June 2014 — January 2016 — Orange County leveraged its relationship with Time Warner resulting in Time Warner extending its wireless hotspots network throughout downtown Hillsborough and into Fairview and Cedar Grove Parks. Prior to the County's contact, Time Warner reported it was only going to deliver hotspot services to Durham and Chapel Hill. This service allows any individual to connect wirelessly throughout downtown Hillsborough and the parks for free. • 2011 — North Carolina House Bill 129 barred governments from using public funds to become Internet Service Providers. • 2010 — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) publishes its National Broadband Plan. • 2010 — MCNC (Microelectronics Center of North Carolina) awarded federal funds for middle-mile network in rural NC. • 2009 — The US Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus bill included a provision to make loans to states for the purpose of broadband. PROPOSED AGREEMENT WITH OPEN BROADBAND In Fiscal Year 2018 funds were budgeted to create a scalable broadband solution to foster innovation, drive job creation, stimulate economic growth, and serve new areas of development in the community and also to provide a flexible menu of retail services that offers new or enhanced service to rural Orange County residents. In Fiscal Year 2019 Open Broadband, LLC and Orange County entered into a public-private partnership to provide broadband Internet services to residents in the rural areas of Orange County. The attached agreement works toward those purposes by continuing to partner with Open Broadband by allowing them to place communications equipment on a vertical assets owned by Orange County, i.e., the communications tower at 510 Meadowlands. This agreement will have a 36-month duration in an effort to co-term it with the larger Open Broadband three-year pilot project currently underway. Prior to renewal, and similar to the pilot project, it will be re-