(TNS) — Hansville, Alabama taps into a municipal revenue stream that may have been dormant since the advent of landline-based internet in the city. The physical infrastructure is a local fiber internet franchise agreement with his provider using the city’s right-of-way.
At its recent regular meeting, the Hansville City Council adopted a new Fiber Internet Franchise Ordinance. The ordinance requires the area provider to remit 5% of his annual gross income to the city. Widely deployed in local governments across the country, franchise fees compensate cities and towns for maintaining public roads in exchange for utility companies using the land to transmit wire-based Internet signals to their customers. It is intended to
As such, franchise agreements do not apply to satellite and other wireless Internet services that do not require a metropolitan infrastructure. Currently, in Hanceville, he has three providers offering Internet service that meet the ordinance’s requirements. They include Spectrum, AT&T, and Sprout.
City officials did not have the information available to estimate the annual revenue that the new 5 percent franchise fee could generate. The ordinance provides for an initial franchise term of 10 years, with automatic renewals every five years thereafter, unless either the city or the Internet company ceases to provide the service.
It is up to each provider to absorb the 5% increase or pass it on to Hanceville’s customers as a line item on future Internet bills or as a higher monthly service fee.
Among other items on the agenda of its January 26 regular meeting, the Council:
- Accepted and agreed to all terms of a $273,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to reimburse the City for the purchase of mobile command and communications equipment used by the Hansville Police Department.
- The Hansville Civic Club, which has designated the first week of February as Citizens International Clergy Appreciation Week and takes an active role in funding local scholarships, programs and activities for schools and the wider community. admitted.
- Approved the purchase of 4 surplus police vehicles and 4 to replace them.
- Approved a surplus of other firefighting and office equipment, excluding vehicles deemed old, obsolete, redundant, broken, or no longer needed by the City.
- Submitted a bill to consider a proposed ordinance introducing a new T-1 residential zoning category for small homes within the city limits of Hansville.
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