Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Telecom Franchise topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council holds decision on citywide cable/telecom franchise to allow one-week review
Summary
After a lengthy committee-level review and extended council discussion about financial and construction risks, the council deferred final action for one week on granting a citywide franchise to Western Integrated Networks (WinFirst) and directed staff monitoring and reporting requirements.
The Los Angeles City Council on July 17 delayed final action for one week on a proposed citywide franchise for Western Integrated Networks (WinFirst) to build a fiber-to-the-home network providing cable, Internet and telephone services.
Information Technology Agency (ITA) staff presented the Board of Information Technology Commissioners' recommendation to award a 16-year franchise to WinFirst. ITA assistant general manager Paul Janus summarized the city-level recommendation and noted that the board had considered legal, technical and financial analyses. The city's chief executive office reviewed WinFirst's proposal and flagged concerns about financial viability; that review is summarized in an OARS/CEO memorandum that staff said had been incorporated into the committee report.
Council members raised questions about WinFirst's financing, construction schedule, potential disruption from trenching and street cuts, the proposed $29 million performance bond and the city's options if a private buildout stalled. ITA staff said the city hired a financial consultant (Kaiser, Shearer & Schlagle) that reviewed WinFirst's financial materials and found private equity financing of approximately $889 million; WinFirst estimated a buildout cost of about $2.2 billion and told the city it would use earned revenues to complete later phases of the deployment.
Councilmember Holden said he wanted more time to review franchise documents and asked for a week to withhold his vote; other members shared concerns about buildout risks and oversight. Chair of the committee, Councilmember Padilla, argued the franchise represents an opportunity to introduce competition and highlighted WinFirst commitments on local hiring, apprenticeship and universal-access obligations. Padilla added that the franchise includes provisions for fiber to schools, community colleges and city facilities, and requires compliance with above-ground facility rules.
Given the requests for further review, the council approved a one-week hold under council rules and instructed ITA to provide ongoing monitoring and 60-day status reports on WinFirst's progress if the item is taken up again. The council clerk recorded the matter as continued for one week; no final franchise adoption occurred at this meeting.
