TDA discusses new-tenant equipment fee and router policy as broadband upgrades continue

Members of the Tuttle Total Development Authority reviewed proposed changes to the TDA fee schedule intended to recapture the cost of equipment installations for new tenants and update charges for unreturned or damaged equipment.

Staff said the proposed one-time new-equipment installation fee would be $120 (or an option to pay $10 per month) to cover router and setup costs for new homes or tenants. They explained that much of the equipment being removed by customers is older surplus hardware the utility does not plan to reuse, so a modest return/recovery fee (currently $25 for unreturned equipment) may be inadequate for newer equipment such as 10-gig routers.

Council and TDA members also discussed whether to label the fee "new tenant fee" or "new service fee," how to recoup charges if tenants move and take equipment with them, and whether the authority should adopt a formal contract for initial installs. Staff said they already apply some recovery by placing unpaid balances on final bills and that proposed language will be refined before returning as a December resolution.

Separately, utilities staff mentioned the authority plans to deploy 10-gig routers in customer homes to prepare for increasing future demand; council members asked whether current feed speeds would allow customers to use the full capacity now and staff replied the upgrade is future-proofing the network.