Hawaii Passes Small-Cells Bill; San Jose City Council Approves AT&T Pact

deployment by pre-empting local authority in the right of way (see 1804300034). Meanwhile, the San Jose City Council voted 9-1 to approve the AT&T small-cells agreement for the carrier to install 170 small cells on light poles across the city in its first phase. AT&T may install 1,000 more in a subsequent phase, San Jose Smart City Lead Dolan Beckel said in the webcast meeting. The deal also sets up a digital inclusion fund using revenue from lease agreements. AT&T will make an $850,000 up-front permit payment and $1,500 per year per small-cell site license for the first five years, with an annual inflation escalator of 3 per cent starting year six. Also, the carrier will make a $1 million grant to help the city speed permitting processes for small-cell deployments. The city felt it got a fair price for its assets, considering what else it got in the agreement, said Deputy City Manager Kip Harkness. Mayor Sam Liccardo (D), who resigned in protest from the FCC Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (see 1801250049), supported the accord in an April 27 memo. “These new broadband deployments offer the opportunity to create more equity in our city -- both through incentivizing the private sector to provide more balanced deployments across historically neglected areas of the city … as well as providing much needed funding to close the digital divide.” AT&T California President Ken McNeely emailed: “The public private partnership between San Jose and AT&T will help the community become safer, more sustainable, and more digitally inclusive. This investment in mobile infrastructure will also enable technologies for smart city solutions that can help reduce traffic congestion, enhance public safety response, and increase online educational opportunities."