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Wilmington City staff say Verizon has filed cable franchise application; review and comparative analysis next
Summary
City staff told the CBT Commission that Verizon submitted a cable franchise application and a $10,000 application fee on July 3; staff will work with the law department and outside counsel to prepare a comparable analysis with the Comcast franchise agreement and form a city negotiation team.
Wilmington City officials told the CBT Commission that Verizon has filed a formal cable franchise application and paid a $10,000 application fee on July 3, opening a process that city staff say will include legal review and negotiation preparations.
Marshall Bassenite, senior legislative adviser and chief financial officer for City Council, said commissioners received copies of Verizon’s application and that a copy also was uploaded to the commission’s OneDrive. “They also submitted a $10,000 application fee on July 3,” Bassenite said.
City staff said the next steps are administrative and legal: the law department and an outside attorney will review the application and draft a comparable analysis against the Comcast franchise agreement, work the city is targeting to complete within about 10 days. After that, the city will assemble a negotiation team and schedule negotiation meetings with Verizon; the commission may hold executive sessions to review outside counsel’s updates.
The commission did not take any formal action on the Verizon application during the meeting. Bassenite described Verizon’s submission as significant because, he said, the city has been waiting for the company to engage and that moving the timeline could require additional CBT meetings in August.
Background: franchise agreements typically require a comparative analysis to identify differences in terms, fees and service commitments between providers. Commission discussion at this meeting focused on process and scheduling; no draft agreement, proposed terms or formal motion on the Verizon application was presented or voted on.
The commission adopted its April 24 minutes at the start of the meeting and adjourned after the Verizon update. Commissioners were told to expect further updates by email in the coming weeks as staff completes the legal review and prepares negotiation materials.
