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contract or joint powers agreement that restricted them from breaking away and what concessions did they have to do in order to remove any responsibilities or liabilities to the commission. Mr. Mayer indicated that while they do not belong to a cable commission, their franchise agreement with Time - Warner at the time did not preclude the City from becoming a Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP). Currently, though, there appears to be many telecommunications companies who do want legislative action to limit or restrict a local government's ability to become a WISP (This statement based on comments heard at the FiberFirst Minnesota FTTH Conference, March 30, 2005). Arizona and Texas are two states that are currently trying to pass legislation to preclude cities from being able to become WISP'S. Texas wants to go further by taking away a city's authority to negotiate and become a party to franchise agreements with cable or telecommunications companies. It is apparently their desire for the state to be the only governmental agency to negotiate franchise agreements. Revenues and Expenses. Another important aspect of this project was the City's contribution to the investment costs of installing the wireless technology. The City Council understood the importance of providing this service to the community for its continued viability and accepted the responsibility to provide accessible Internet when the private sector provider would not. Mr. Mayer indicated that the City's share of the capital costs were approximately $800,000 and were related to providing high -speed Internet service to about 18,000 residents. The City of Chaska had an agreement already in place with the school district that gave the City access to much of the fiber optic cable that is used as the backbone to the network. This fiber optic system had, in addition to servicing the school, provided limited Internet service to the business community. Some of the City's money was also used to add a residential component to this already existing base of business customers. Also incorporated into the wireless plan, was an Internet system that the City had previously installed but was limited in its serviceability to the community. As a result, the City had much of the routing equipment needed, some servers and in- house knowledge of wireless gained from their past experience with a "fixed" wireless Internet system. Mr. Mayer indicated that at the end of the installation of the TROPOS Network system, there remained a small portion of Chaska that is not serviced and these areas are made up of existing large farms. He felt, though, that eventually, service will be run to these areas as the system grows or the properties are developed. Mr. Mayer also wanted to make the point that the City did not and does not now consider this service as a revenue enhancement for the City; they are simply providing a community desired service that their private sector provider, Time - Warner, has refused to provide because it wasn't cost effective and affected profitability too much. Once the equipment certificates that they used to fund the project are paid, the monthly fees of $15.99 will be used to maintain and upgrade the wireless system. In Conclusion. A summary of Chaska's experience has been compiled by TROPOS Networks and is included with this staff report for your review. It describes the history of this project, what was required technically and financially to get this project off the ground and the level of maintenance to keep the system running. In addition to acquiring additional equipment, the City also owns some of the needed infrastructure, including their utility poles. Obviously, the more of the basic infrastructure that a City owns to support a wireless Internet network, the less capital investment is required. In reviewing the information on the Tropos MetroMesh System, it states that cost is dependent on several variables: The city's topography, denseness of foliage of the trees, availability of mounting locations, interference sources and the level of system management H:Wlemos \2005 \Wire1ess Internet 05032005.doc rev.