Telecom Task Force extension may lead to partnership

Metro Council last night extended the life of the Telecom Task Force, as competing and collaborating interests continue to weigh in.

Email | Print By Milt Capps

03-22-2006 3:56 PM — Metro Council voted unanimously Tuesday (March 21) to extend until Aug. 1 the charter of the Telecommunications Innovation Task Force that was authorized by a Metro Council resolution last October.

The Task Force's mandate, as expressed in last fall's resolution, is "to explore and report on the feasibility of using Metropolitan Government resources in a network that is available to the public using broadband technologies, broadband over power lines, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, and other wireless applications, end-user fiber build out, and other telecommunications technologies."

The 15-member task force was appointed by Vice Mayor Howard Gentry, who designated as chairman Darrell Freeman. Freeman is founder and CEO of Nashville-based Zycron Inc., as well as chairman-elect of the board of governors of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Freeman was unavailable for comment this afternoon, as he was serving as a volunteer pilot for an "Angel Flight" medical-transport mission.

Task Force member and Metro Council Member At Large David Briley, who sponsored both the initial task force resolution and the extension resolution that passed yesterday, said cautiously this afternoon that with the extension now granted, the task force is likely to produce a report that sets "some clear objectives for the city to reach." Briley said he believes that Metro Nashville's resources are inadequate, and the city must not "continue falling further behind" in providing high-caliber access to broadband for citizens and business alike. Broadband resources are widely considered a key ingredient in recruiting new business and industry from other regions, as well as in supporting growth of existing local employment.

Briley said it's likely that once the task force has fulfilled its assessment, responsibility for further work will fall to local government, industry and community groups.

As in other U.S. cities that have explored municipal broadband initiatives, Nashville's public discussion of possible Metro Government involvement in fostering the creation of additional infrastructure for voice, data and related communications has from the outset been controversial. A key issue is whether municipal government could or should attempt to bring about newer or lower-cost broadband services by leveraging government's regulatory clout or financial resources.

During the fall 2005 debate of the initial resolution put forward by Briley, some Council members questioned launching an initiative that might produce recommendations for Metro Government expenditures, with several citing concerns about Davidson County residents' current tax burden and demands for funding of Metro Schools and other agencies.

During a meeting Feb. 17, Task Force members discussed such issues as which potential customers are deemed most likely to adopt new services not currently offered by BellSouth, Comcast and other providers, as well as the demand and pricing for services of varying degrees of reliability; and, which technologies are most likely to be cost-effective, particularly in reaching market segments that some argue are currently underserved, including low-income households and small businesses.

During that same meeting, there was informal consensus that Metro Government should not compete directly with private-sector telcommunications providers. There was also support for the notion that there may be a role for government in ensuring additional broadband infrastructure is built; in "wholesaling" services to the private sector; or, possibly, in ensuring that low-income households receive some form of assistance in gaining access to new infrastructure.

More than once, BellSouth and Comcast representatives have been among those raising issues of costs, benefits and incentives for incumbent providers.

Briley said today he thinks it is likely that the task force will ultimately recommend some form of public-private partnership, aimed at fulfilling identifiable public needs, while affording the private sector every opportunity to provide services on a commercial basis.

Members of the group have participated in or observed at least five fact-finding meetings or visits, during which they received presentations from representatives of NES, BellSouth, Comcast, the city of Seattle, the Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA) and the city of Franklin. At least one more presentation session is contemplated, although a date for that meeting has not been set. Representatives of the Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association and Comcast have requested that that meeting include a presentation about one or more municipal broadband projects that have failed, elsewhere in the nation.

Task Force members include, in addition to Freeman, Paul Allen, NES; Hon. John Brown; Alison Jenkin, Comcast Cable; Lance Lott, Metro Schools; Matt Hall, Vanderbilt; Ron Jones, TRA; Ray Capp, ConduIT Corp.; Steve Self, BellSouth; Dennis Gendron, Tenn. State Univ.; Ken Russell, ISDN-Net; David Briley, Metro Council; Lynn Williams, Metro Council; Jamie Isabel, Metro Council.