Sugar Grove telecom ordinances will come to vote next month

The Sugar Grove Village Board will vote on three ordinances next month that could pave the way for AT&T to bring video over Internet service to Sugar Grove in 2009.

Village attorney Steven Andersson briefed the village board on the ordinances at a meeting of the committee as a whole Tuesday. The ordinances are based on models drafted by the Illinois Municipal League and customized to fill the needs of Sugar Grove, according to Andersson. A vote is likely to come at the March 4 board meeting.

The ordinances are in response to AT&T's plans to bring Project Lightspeed to Sugar Grove next year. Project Lightspeed provides high-definition television programming, video on demand, telephone and other services through a fiber-optic network, allowing customers to watch television over phone lines rather than by cable or antenna.

The project has generated lawsuits against AT&T by other municipalities, mostly over the loss of franchise fees for the municipality, which cable companies typically pay. AT&T began the project two years ago.

However, a state law passed this summer allows AT&T and other providers to obtain a franchise from the state, taking negotiations away from municipalities.

Tuesday's discussion did not indicate that the village will have a conflict with AT&T, and an AT&T representative was at the meeting to answer questions.

According to attorney Andersson, the ordinances:

• Allow the village to establish standards regarding the installation of the 4-foot utility boxes, or cabinets, and the conduit. The ordinance includes a section where landscaping could be required around the large boxes;

• Grant the municipality a 5 percent provider fee and a 1 percent public, education and governmental access fee;

• protect the consumer with a guarantee of rebates or refunds if there is a problem with the service.

"These ordinances would be better than nothing," Andersson said in response to a question from Trustee Thomas Renk as to how much negotiating power the village will have.

Valerie Bruggeman, director of external Aaffairs for AT&T Illinois, told the board that AT&T helped craft the ordinances and welcomes the chance to work with the village. She said Project Lightspeed is a $6 billion project designed to reach all of Illinois.

For example, she said, AT&T would provide the landscaping around the cabinets or provide the funding and allow the village to do it.

"We want to work collaboratively," she said.