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STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES
AT&T Broadband & Internet Services ("AT&T-BIS") and The Pittsburgh I-Net Working Group ("Working Group") have discussed ways by which qualified non-profit organizations can access affordable bandwidth, separate from the proposed Cable System Franchise Agreement between the City of Pittsburgh and AT&T-BIS. Further discussions are necessary; however, the parties have reached an understanding on the following principles and will continue to work to implement them.
1) The Working Group will establish an organization ("Organization") which will coordinate the use of dedicated bandwidth consisting of a virtual private network ("Dedicated Bandwidth") for qualifying nonprofit organizations ("Participating Groups") on the portion of the AT&T-BIS cable system that is within the boundaries of the City of Pittsburgh and shall, by mutual agreement, develop qualifying criteria and terms for the Participating Groups that can use it.
2) The Dedicated Bandwidth will be obtained under the terms of a managed services agreement between AT&T-BIS and the Organization or directly with each Participating Group.
3) The terms for Dedicated Bandwidth in this Statement of Principles are independent from the terms for Institutional Network capacity described in Section 5.4 of the proposed Franchise Agreement.
4) The Dedicated Bandwidth will be sufficient to satisfy the current needs of the Participating Groups and will be expandable to meet their future needs.
5) AT&T-BIS will provide minimum maintenance and service standards that are equivalent to the standards AT&T-BIS provides for the Pittsburgh Public School District and/or the Carnegie Library/Museum.
6) Each Participating Group will pay for: a) the site connection provided by AT&T-BIS to the AT&T-BIS cable system based upon AT&T-BIS's incremental costs of providing such connection; and, b) a monthly fee for the managed services provided, at comparable rates charged for comparable services provided to the Pittsburgh Public School District and the Carnegie Library/Museum. The Organization will seek funding to assist Participating Groups in paying for site connection costs and the on-going managed services fee.
7) Should the Pittsburgh Public School District and/or the Carnegie Library/Museum secure dedicated bandwidth on the AT&T-BIS cable system, AT&T-BIS will allow, subject to the approval of the Pittsburgh Public School District and/or the Carnegie Library/Museum, the Organization and/or Participating Groups to connect to the AT&T-BIS cable system through the infrastructure that serves the Pittsburgh Public School District and/or the Carnegie Library/Museum. AT&T-BIS will also support further efforts of the Organization to collaborate with the Pittsburgh Public School District and/or the Carnegie Library/Museum.
8) The Organization and AT&T-BIS agree to discuss whether Participating Groups may provide, upon approval of AT&T-BIS, connectivity between the Participating Groups site(s) and the connection points to AT&T-BIS's cable system, provided that such connectivity conforms to industry standards and FCC regulations, including but not limited to regulations pertaining to signal leakage.
9) The Organization will negotiate with AT&T-BIS to secure reduced charges (charges below those which would be charged to the private sector for comparable service) for the purchase of managed services, for site connections and for equipment purchases required for connectivity to the Dedicated Bandwidth. These reductions may be based upon economies resulting from bulk purchases made by the Organization and Participating Groups and/ or be in exchange for collocation space for AT&T-BIS facilities at the sites of Participating Groups.
10) The Working Group and AT&T-BIS agree to discuss the inclusion of Participating Groups which are located outside the City of Pittsburgh.
11) The Working Group will request that Pittsburgh City Council modify the proposed Cable System Franchise Agreement as follows:
a) that AT&T-BIS be permitted to install aerial drop coaxial/fiber-optic cable connections to all schools, libraries, museums, and Participating Groups.
b) that the revenues received by AT&T-BIS from all schools, libraries, museums, and Participating Groups be exempt from the payment or pass through of franchise fees.
For the Pittsburgh I-Net Working Group:
___________________________
Richard R. Flanagan
Youth Development Director
Bloomfield Garfield Corporation
Date: December 15, 1999
_________________________________
Robert D. Carlitz
Executive Director
Information Renaissance
Date: December 15, 1999
For AT&T BROADBAND & INTERNET SERVICES:
___________________________
James M. Mazur
Regional Vice President
Date: December 15, 1999