12-14-2015 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Section 1 The CenturyLink Application and Public Record In the summer of 2014, CenturyLink publically announced that it would begin offering 1 Gig internet service in the Twin Cities area. Shortly afterwards, CenturyLink approached the North Metro Telecommunications Commission ("NMTC") about obtaining a cable franchise. In January, 2015, CenturyLink informed NMTC staff that it was prepared to apply for a cable franchise with the NMTC's member cities. The NMTC then published a Notice of Intent to Franchise in compliance with the Minnesota Cable Act.' See Exhibit 1. CenturyLink submitted a timely franchise application on February 12, 2015, to the NMTC. See Exhibit 2. The NMTC then issued a request of information, to which CenturyLink responded. See Exhibits 3 and 4. A public hearing was held before the NMTC on February 18, 2015, where additional public testimony and comments were received by the NMTC. See Exhibit 5.2 The purpose of this report is to review the CenturyLink application in light of the public record and recommend whether NMTC staff should be directed to negotiate a cable franchise with the company. Section 2 Impact of Competition on Consumers and Challenges to New Entrant The Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") is the expert agency in the country on communications issues. It has addressed the impact of competitive cable franchises on consumers. The FCC recognized that, "[n]ew competitors are entering markets for the delivery of services historically offered by monopolists: traditional phone companies are primed to enter the cable market, while traditional cable companies are competing in the telephony market."3 According to the FCC, both traditional cable and traditional phone companies are projected to offer customers a "triple play" of voice, high-speed Internet access, and video services over their respective networks. Id. When a traditional phone company enters into the marketplace the FCC has found, [CJompetition for delivery of bundled services will benefit consumers by driving down prices and improving the quality of service offerings. Id. at para. 2 (emphasis added). Last year, the FCC found that average prices in communities with effective competition increased less than in communities without effective competition. See Report on Cable Industry Prices, DA 14-672, at 114 (Rel. May 16, 2014). The Report on Cable 1 See Minnesota Statutes Chapter 238. 2 The Public Hearing can be found at: http://173.165.231.193/Cablecast/Public/Show.aspx?ChannellD=1 &ShowID=19236 3 See In the Matter of Section 621(a)(1) of the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 as amended by the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, MB Docket No. 05-311, at ¶ 2 (Rel. March 5, 2007) (the "621" Order) (the "621 Order"). The 621 Order is attached as Exhibit 6. The 621 Order was upheld on appeal. See Alliance for Community Media v. FCC, 529 F.3d 763 (661 Cir. 2008), attached as Exhibit 7.