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Next Generation Netwark Plan Page 1 1. Executive Summary 1/ The Nefwork Planning Project: Purpose and Scope The North Suburban Communications Commission (NSCC) has embarked on a pzanee�-ing program to further facilitate provision of state-of-the-art communications services to its member cities. Ten northern St. Paul suburban cities in Ramsey County make up the NSC�. � The North Suburban Access Corporation (NSAC), which is a subsidiary of the NSCC, oversees the maintenance and operation of the public access studio, produces public access content, and provides oversight of the cable television franchise agreement. Currently, NSCC cities receive connectivity services through the Institu�iona� Network (1-Net) obtained as part of the cable television franchise agreement with Comcast. E�sting fiber constructed lry Comcast interconnects 28 sites occupied by the NSCC cities and other institutions. Comcast constructed and maintains this fiber per the franchise agreement. NSCC indicates that there is no opportunity within the franchise agreeme�it to require that additional fiber be constructed or purchased at below-market pricing. Furthermore, previous requests to Comcast to purchase additional fiber have been denied. NSCC member cities envision expanding the role of their e�sting I-Net because communications needs are growing exponentially, and a Next Generation Network (NGN) will be essential to enable deployment of emerging applications by and among the numerous public entities in the NSCC region. The e�sting I-Net is unlikely to rr�eet these needs itsel£ Comcast has declined to assist with expansion of the T-�1et, and ongoing regulatory uncertainty could put the e�sting T-Net at risk when the e�sting franchise agreement expires in 2013. Just as significantly, the e�sting I-Net includes substantial amounts of coa�al cable (primarily to schools) that, though state-of-the-art at the time it was built, now risks technical obsolescence and is unlikely to be able to meet growing capacity needs. In addition, use of the �-Net for economic development and other activities involving private organizations is constrained due to conditional use restrictions. An NGN can expand the current fiber I-Net's reach to include such entities as the public schools x�rr] Ra.�sey County. It can also expand its capability and future scalability. Each of the NSCC jurisdictions depends on the e�sting I-Net for support of day-to-day ca�nmu��ications operations. The communications needs of these and other jurisdictions continue to increase, both with respect to number of locations requiring service and the bandwidth capacity of the connections. Collaboration amongst the ten NSCC cities was a critical factor in obtaining the �- Net from Comcast. If individual cities had attempted to negotiate on their own, . � r pf � The ten NSCC cities include; Arden Hills, Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, Little Canada, Mounds View, New Brighton, North Oaks, St. Anthony Village, Roseville and Shoreview. all text and diagrams Q CTC 2007