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Utopia representative says fiber company will go underground, offers to adopt Comcast template for Hideout
Summary
Utopia told the council it provides municipal fiber infrastructure and is willing to adopt Hideout’s Comcast franchise template and to avoid above‑ground lines; staff and council discussed a 5% franchise fee, who pays it, and repair/removal obligations at franchise end.
Nicole Codle, who said she represents Utopia, told the council Utopia supplies wholesale fiber infrastructure for municipalities and does not provide retail services. Codle described a legacy break in Hideout’s fiber and said the company is amenable to the council’s conditions, including choosing the town’s Comcast franchise form as the template. “We prefer to be underground as well,” Codle said when councilors objected to any above‑ground poles or cables.
Staff explained that, legally, Utopia functions as a telecommunications/infrastructure provider rather than a retail cable operator, which changes which state rules apply. Paulie and others said Utopia had offered a 5% franchise fee (a common federal maximum for cable franchises) and that in many Utopia jurisdictions the end‑user provider handles franchise‑type fees. Councilors pressed for language to require underground installation in the town code and asked staff to circulate both the Utopia draft and the existing Comcast agreement so councilors can compare language and ensure consistent terms across franchise agreements.
The council did not take final action; staff will circulate the Comcast form and the Utopia draft, and councilors asked that changes to explicitly prohibit above‑ground construction be inserted before final consideration.
