The City of Yukon currently has cable franchise agreements with COX and AT&T. We have been approached by BluePeak (Clarity Telecom) and Dobson Communications about entering into new "franchise Agreements" with these providers whose primary service will be broadband internet services. If BluePeak only pays franchise fees on cable services, but offers little or no actual cable services, Cox argues that the City will not collect any funds for internet based services, streaming services, broadband, etc. Cox is suggesting that the City could collect a percentage of gross revenue instead of the 5% franchise fee for cable from these new providers. Has anyone seen a Cable/Broadband Franchise agreement based on percentage of gross revenue in Oklahoma? Roger Rinehart Rinehart, Rinehart & Rinehart, P.C. Attorneys at Law 115 S. Rock Island Avenue El Reno, OK 73036 405-262-2360 (phone) 405-262-2395 (fax) Roger@Rinehartlaw.net<mailto:Roger@Rinehartlaw.net> www.Rinehartlaw.net<http://www.rinehartlaw.net/> THE INFORMATION IN THIS MESSAGE IS CONFIDENTIAL AND INTENDED FOR THE SOLE USE OF THE INTENDED RECIPIENT. THIS E-MAIL CONTAINS INFORMATION THAT IS PRIVILEGED ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT AND MAY BE PROTECTED BY ATTORNEY-CLIENT AND OTHER PRIVILEGES. IF YOU ARE NOT THE INTENDED RECIPIENT, YOU ARE ADVISED THAT RETENTION, USE, DISSEMINATION, AND COPYING OF THIS MESSAGE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. IF YOU RECEIVED THIS MESSAGE IN ERROR, PLEASE NOTIFY US IMMEDIATELY BY ELECTRONIC MAIL OR TELEPHONE AT (405) 262-2360 AND DELETE THIS MESSAGE. Sending an e-mail to Rinehart, Rinehart & Rinehart, P.C. or to any of our professionals does not create a lawyer-client relationship.

If they are contacting Yukon, Mustang will be followed shortly. I would appreciate receiving the same information. Jonathan E. Miller City Attorney City of Mustang 1501 N. Mustang Road Mustang, Oklahoma 73064 Telephone: (405) 376-7746 Facsimile: (405) 376-7721 This email is sent by the City Attorney and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the email and any attachments. If you are a and officer, employee or agent of the City of Mustang, you should not share this email with others. Sharing this email may result in a loss of the attorney-client privilege. From: Roger Rinehart <roger@rinehartlaw.net> Sent: Friday, September 30, 2022 11:15 AM To: oama@lists.imla.org Cc: Tammy Kretchmar <tkretchmar@yukonok.gov>; Mitchell Hort <mhort@yukonok.gov> Subject: [Oama] Franchise Fees v. Gross Proceeds for Cable and Broadband providers The City of Yukon currently has cable franchise agreements with COX and AT&T. We have been approached by BluePeak (Clarity Telecom) and Dobson Communications about entering into new "franchise Agreements" with these providers whose primary service will be broadband internet services. If BluePeak only pays franchise fees on cable services, but offers little or no actual cable services, Cox argues that the City will not collect any funds for internet based services, streaming services, broadband, etc. Cox is suggesting that the City could collect a percentage of gross revenue instead of the 5% franchise fee for cable from these new providers. Has anyone seen a Cable/Broadband Franchise agreement based on percentage of gross revenue in Oklahoma? Roger Rinehart Rinehart, Rinehart & Rinehart, P.C. Attorneys at Law 115 S. Rock Island Avenue El Reno, OK 73036 405-262-2360 (phone) 405-262-2395 (fax) Roger@Rinehartlaw.net<mailto:Roger@Rinehartlaw.net> www.Rinehartlaw.net<https://us-west-2.protection.sophos.com?d=rinehartlaw.net&u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5yaW5laGFydGxhdy5uZXQv&i=NjBhNjhkYzZhZmIzMmUwZjVhOTkxZDZk&t=RnBGeWFDMW15MVFuSGNuRjBWblFNTklhdFJISG51bFN5SGNTUVpjRFRvTT0=&h=e70a8910510645e697ec125ab9289552> THE INFORMATION IN THIS MESSAGE IS CONFIDENTIAL AND INTENDED FOR THE SOLE USE OF THE INTENDED RECIPIENT. THIS E-MAIL CONTAINS INFORMATION THAT IS PRIVILEGED ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT AND MAY BE PROTECTED BY ATTORNEY-CLIENT AND OTHER PRIVILEGES. IF YOU ARE NOT THE INTENDED RECIPIENT, YOU ARE ADVISED THAT RETENTION, USE, DISSEMINATION, AND COPYING OF THIS MESSAGE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. IF YOU RECEIVED THIS MESSAGE IN ERROR, PLEASE NOTIFY US IMMEDIATELY BY ELECTRONIC MAIL OR TELEPHONE AT (405) 262-2360 AND DELETE THIS MESSAGE. Sending an e-mail to Rinehart, Rinehart & Rinehart, P.C. or to any of our professionals does not create a lawyer-client relationship.

Seminole is going through this whole scenario as we speak. As a general rule, internet services cannot be taxed under federal law. However, a city is allowed up to collect a franchise fee of up to 5% of gross revenues of cable/video services provided. Typically, all three are bundled together and are passed on to the consumer. I have several of these agreements and would gladly provide anything that might be of interest. Differing opinions exist as to what is permissible as this is an evolving area of law. I did discover an instance where a city renegotiated their franchise fee from 5% to 2% when the provider discontinued their cable and video service, leaving only internet services. I believe that would be acceptable as long as it is not passed on to the consumer as a tax. On a related issue, access to city ROWs by utility providers cannot be denied, but they can be “governed” at the local level per federal and state law. Following the tornados that devastated the community, Seminole passed an ordinance requiring new fiber optic lines to be installed underground. It was discovered that numerous unknown cable/fiber optic providers had lines running throughout the city. There was no oversight, no maintenance and many lines were abandoned. It was total chaos. The city council decided to pass an ordinance requiring a ROW maintenance fee to be paid for all new installations. Since it is nearly impossible to get any provider to maintain their lines, the city decided to do it themselves in the interests of public safety. We feel comfortable that this would withstand a legal challenge, but it certainly will discourage potential providers due to the increased cost. Please email me if I can be of assistance. > On Sep 30, 2022, at 11:19 AM, Jon Miller <JMiller@cityofmustang.org> wrote: > >  > If they are contacting Yukon, Mustang will be followed shortly. I would appreciate receiving the same information. > > Jonathan E. Miller > City Attorney > City of Mustang > 1501 N. Mustang Road > Mustang, Oklahoma 73064 > Telephone: (405) 376-7746 > Facsimile: (405) 376-7721 > > > This email is sent by the City Attorney and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the email and any attachments. If you are a and officer, employee or agent of the City of Mustang, you should not share this email with others. Sharing this email may result in a loss of the attorney-client privilege. > > > > From: Roger Rinehart <roger@rinehartlaw.net> > Sent: Friday, September 30, 2022 11:15 AM > To: oama@lists.imla.org > Cc: Tammy Kretchmar <tkretchmar@yukonok.gov>; Mitchell Hort <mhort@yukonok.gov> > Subject: [Oama] Franchise Fees v. Gross Proceeds for Cable and Broadband providers > > The City of Yukon currently has cable franchise agreements with COX and AT&T. We have been approached by BluePeak (Clarity Telecom) and Dobson Communications about entering into new “franchise Agreements” with these providers whose primary service will be broadband internet services. If BluePeak only pays franchise fees on cable services, but offers little or no actual cable services, Cox argues that the City will not collect any funds for internet based services, streaming services, broadband, etc. Cox is suggesting that the City could collect a percentage of gross revenue instead of the 5% franchise fee for cable from these new providers. Has anyone seen a Cable/Broadband Franchise agreement based on percentage of gross revenue in Oklahoma? > > Roger Rinehart > Rinehart, Rinehart & Rinehart, P.C. > Attorneys at Law > 115 S. Rock Island Avenue > El Reno, OK 73036 > > 405-262-2360 (phone) > 405-262-2395 (fax) > > Roger@Rinehartlaw.net > www.Rinehartlaw.net > > > THE INFORMATION IN THIS MESSAGE IS CONFIDENTIAL AND INTENDED FOR THE SOLE USE OF THE INTENDED RECIPIENT. THIS E-MAIL CONTAINS INFORMATION THAT IS PRIVILEGED ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT AND MAY BE PROTECTED BY ATTORNEY-CLIENT AND OTHER PRIVILEGES. IF YOU ARE NOT THE INTENDED RECIPIENT, YOU ARE ADVISED THAT RETENTION, USE, DISSEMINATION, AND COPYING OF THIS MESSAGE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. IF YOU RECEIVED THIS MESSAGE IN ERROR, PLEASE NOTIFY US IMMEDIATELY BY ELECTRONIC MAIL OR TELEPHONE AT (405) 262-2360 AND DELETE THIS MESSAGE. > > Sending an e-mail to Rinehart, Rinehart & Rinehart, P.C. or to any of our professionals does not create a lawyer-client relationship. > > > -- > Oama mailing list -- oama@lists.imla.org > To unsubscribe send an email to oama-leave@lists.imla.org