Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: December 2, 2019 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 8-f <br /> SUBJECT: Proposed Tower Antenna Agreement with Open Broadband for Wireless <br /> Broadband Appurtenances on a County Facility <br /> DEPARTMENT: Information Technologies <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> 1. Proposed Tower Antenna Jim Northrup, Chief Information Officer, <br /> Agreement with Equipment 919-245-2276 <br /> Specifications <br /> 2. Advertisement of Lease <br /> PURPOSE: To authorize the Manager to sign the attached agreement thereby providing Open <br /> Broadband, LLC with no cost access to a County facility for the purpose of appropriately <br /> attaching equipment in order to provide broadband services to rural Orange County residents. <br /> BACKGROUND: In Fiscal Year 2017-18 funds were budgeted to create a scalable broadband <br /> solution to foster innovation, drive job creation, stimulate economic growth, and serve new areas <br /> of development in the community and also provide a flexible menu of retail services that offers <br /> new or enhanced service to rural Orange County residents. <br /> In Fiscal Year 2018-19 Open Broadband, LLC and Orange County entered into a public-private <br /> partnership to provide broadband Internet services to residents in the rural areas of Orange <br /> County. <br /> The attached agreement works toward those purposes by continuing to partner with Open <br /> Broadband by allowing the firm to place communications equipment on a vertical asset owned <br /> by Orange County, i.e., the communications tower at 720 Hawkins Road in Cedar Grove. <br /> The agreement has a 24 month duration in an effort to co-term it with the larger Open <br /> Broadband three-year pilot project currently underway. Prior to renewal, it, like the pilot, will be <br /> re-evaluated for economic viability with no obligation for continued County support beyond the <br /> provisions in the attached contract. <br /> FINANCIAL IMPACT: While Open Broadband is assuming equipment and installation costs, <br /> Orange County will be providing access to the vertical assets at no cost to the County for the <br /> duration of the agreement. It should be noted that the Open Broadband equipment and <br />