The Hermiston City Council approved a franchise agreement for a new telecom company in the area on Monday.
The council voted unanimously to approve Fatbeam’s franchise agreement application to use the city’s rights-of-way in order to provide fiber optic service to the Hermiston School District.
Hermiston City Manager Byron Smith said the franchise agreement is similar to existing agreements the city has with other telecom companies such as Eastern Oregon Telecom, CenturyLink, Charter and others.
The agreement calls for Fatbeam to pay 5 percent of its gross revenue to the city. According to the League of Oregon Cities, 95 percent of cities in the state charge fees between 5 and 7 percent for franchise fees.
Assistant City Manager Mark Morgan said because the company is new to the area and competing with existing telecom companies, it’s difficult to project Fatbeam’s future revenues and, thus, how much money the city will take in from the franchise fees.
