Laserfiche WebLink
AGENDA ITEM - 3C <br />-fi DEN HILLS <br />MEMORANDUM <br />DATE: January 12, 2026 <br />TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers <br />FROM: Jessica Jagoe, City Administrator <br />SUBJECT: North Suburban Communications Commission Broadband Franchise Discussion <br />Budgeted Amount: Actual Amount: Funding Source: <br />N/A N/A N/A <br />Council Should Consider <br />Council should discuss and provide direction on broadband franchise agreements with the North <br />Suburban Communications Commission (NSCC). <br />Background <br />At the December 12th work session, Councilmember Weber requested that fiber construction and <br />broadband system franchising be added as a future work session discussion topic. Given the <br />recent inquiries from companies looking to install fiber within Arden Hills and the potential of <br />future right-of-way permits, staff is bringing this item forth for Council consideration. <br />Franchising gives municipalities the legal authority to manage their public rights -of -way and <br />negotiate enforceable agreements with private broadband providers. For Arden Hills, the NSCC <br />has the delegated authority to negotiate and manage the cable communications systems on behalf <br />of its member cities. A broadband system under state law is considered a cable communications <br />system. Therefore, the City can make the determination that when a permit application is <br />submitted to construct a cable communications system (i.e. broadband system) that the applicant <br />shall be instructed to obtain a franchise from the NSCC as a prerequisite to issuing permits. At <br />its December meeting, the NSCC Board passed a recommendation that each member city should <br />direct any applicant for fiber construction to them for franchising discussions. <br />On September 25, 2025, the South Washington County Telecommunications Commission <br />(SWCTC) adopted the first broadband franchise in the state for the City of Woodbury area. This <br />franchise agreement is with Intrepid Fiber Networks. Key provisions that were secured by <br />SWCTC for its member city were: <br />Ability to franchise with other broadband providers <br />Equal Access to Broadband to all residents in the franchise area <br />Page 1 of 2 <br />