Triadwatch scours the City Council agendas with a skeptical eye. I'm thankful he does, there is a lot of minutiae in them in which some important things can get overlooked.
In the comments to this post about Greensboro's pursuit of Google, he asked why there was a line item in the agenda for this week's City Council meeting. (p. 96) for a payment of $107,000 to Time Warner Cable for "dark fiber" per the "franchise agreement."
I asked the City's public affairs office to clarify. They put me in touch with John Gribble the franchise and right of way guy in Engineering and Inspections. Despite some technical difficulties, Gribble persisted and got me the documents that explain. Although technically no longer a franchise -- cable system franchises having been taken over by the state -- the City does have a signed agreement with TWC to pay them $100,000 per year to lease fiber for its institution network, the network that carries data between city computers and facilities. The $107,000 is this year's payment, including tax.
Hi Roch....thanks for the update..did the paperwork you receive indicate how much fiber the City is receiving for its $107,000?
ReplyDeleteAn interesting follow up question could be "What is the City's present Fiber usage compared to its capacity?"
Thanks for commenting, Ross. I do not have those details. Mr. Gribble's email address is John.Gribble@greensboro-nc.gov . He may be able to answer those questions.
ReplyDeletegood follow up roch
ReplyDeleteIt was certainly attention getting. Thanks for pointing it out, TW.
ReplyDeleteBad terminology use here. Dark fiber means unlit fiber. If the city is already carrying data across it, then it's in use which then the designation "dark" doesn't apply.
ReplyDeleteThey lease it dark from TWC. They should stop using the term "Franchise agreement" though.
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