The EAGLE-Net Alliance is inviting network operators to...
The EAGLE-Net Alliance is inviting network operators to negotiate partnership deals, said a 16-page document the broadband infrastructure stimulus grantee released Tuesday (http://bit.ly/16eAv2Z). EAGLE-Net received $100.6 million from NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program and escaped a five-month suspension in late…
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April, with little grant money left and a need for private money -- an additional $10 million to $15 million, by some estimates -- and more time (CD May 1 p5). The entity is to connect Colorado schools. Responses are due June 3. “EAGLE-NET desires to enter into a public-private partnership whereby a Network Operator assumes day-to-day management of the Network in a manner consistent with EAGLE-NET’s mission to deliver broadband primarily to schools,” the document said. “EAGLE-NET understands that it is not itself an operator but instead the owner of the Network.” The intergovernmental entity wants a “revenue-sharing arrangement” that puts the operator in charge of all management and operation of the network, it said. “As a reflection of that commitment, EAGLE-NET requires the selected Network Operator to provide an initial capital investment that will be used toward completing the Network consistent with EAGLE-NET’s mission, building out laterals for customer connections and other working capital requirements,” it said. Respondents should expect to deploy and manage a network expansion of at least 1,000 route miles and provide an initial investment of at least $8 million, EAGLE-Net said. The operator “will assume responsibility for the Network in stages” as part of an “agreed turnover process,” it said. The operator should be able to support initial elements of the network by August of this year, which is when the BTOP grant’s scheduled to sunset; NTIA has told us EAGLE-Net can ask for a grant time extension and will need one. EAGLE-Net plans a respondents’ kickoff conference May 17, to notify shortlisted respondents by June 10 and finally select a network operator by the week of July 22, according to the document.