Agenda - Council Work Session - 03/15/2011

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1. What is Connect Anoka County? Connect Anoka County Frequently Asked Questions Connect Anoka County is the county -led effort to increase the amount of fiber optic cable in the county. The Connect Anoka County project has resulted in a partnership between Zayo Bandwidth, LLC and Anoka County. Through the partnership, Zayo Bandwidth applied for and received a National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) grant paying 70 percent of the fiber construction cost and initial equipment. The grant project will construct an approximately 286 mile fiber network throughout Anoka County linking 145 governmental institutions. 2. Who owns the fiber optic cable? The fiber optic cable that is installed as part of the grant will be owned by Zayo Bandwith. Zayo will provide the capacity services for the governmental network and separately offer connectivity services to the private sector. The grant will also provide dark fiber strands for Anoka County use. The right to use these dark strands is conveyed to the county through a fiber Indefeasible Right to Use (IRU), which is similar to a long -term lease. Should the county decide to use the dark fiber, equipment will need to be purchased and a monthly maintenance fee paid to Zayo. 3. What are the project costs and how are they paid? The total grant- funded project budget is $19.1 million. Seventy percent of the costs ($13.4 million) will be paid by the NTIA grant. The balance of the project ($5.7 million) will be paid equally by Zayo Bandwidth and Anoka County ($2.8 million each). The county intends to recoup a portion of the $2.8 million match by charging the anchor institutions a proportional share based on a per connection charge. 4. What services are offered? The project is only providing connectivity, meaning that any governmental institution will still need to have an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The county purchases its ISP service from the State of Minnesota, Office of Enterprise Technology (OET) and is in discussions with OET to expand ISP services to include cities that are a part of the project. If this option becomes available, Cities will be notified. 5. How were the 145 anchor institutions decided upon? The agreements between Anoka County and Zayo Bandwidth specify 145 governmental and quasi - governmental anchor institutions as a part of the grant project. The list was made by asking each jurisdiction to submit a list of facilities to include in the project. As the project developed, some sites were added and others dropped at the request of the entities. NTIA will need to approve all changes. 6. Can sites be added in the future? The agreements between Anoka County and Zayo Bandwidth limit the number of sites to 145. Any additional sites on the network will require a service request to Zayo Bandwidth. As additional governmental sites require fiber, each entity will need to conduct an analysis as to the most cost - effective way to serve the location. In some cases it may be possible to connect through one of the original 145 sites. In other cases it may be cost effective to have Zayo Bandwidth or another private company serve the facility. March 4, 2011 1