Cable modems provide an immediate and low-cost way for non-profit and community groups to gain access to higher bandwidth. Cable modems use the fiber and coaxial lines of the cable company’s commercial system. The bandwidth improves sharply over the speeds of regular phone lines.

For TCI, the costs are relatively modest, and the potential marketing gains are large.

The longer-term answer for community groups, as well as City government, schools, libraries and museums, is the construction of an I-Net. I-Nets are distinct telecommunications networks built in parallel with the upgrade of a cable company’s commercial system. I-Nets provide dedicated bandwidth in orders of magnitude greater than cable modems.

Franchising authorities can require I-Nets as a condition of franchise renewal. Costs are minimized because the cable company installs the fiber strands as it does the trenching and installation for its commercial system. We propose the following:

• An I-Net or series of I-Nets that extend dark fiber to 20 buildings proposed by the City, to 95 buildings proposed by the School District and to 25 libraries and museums of the Carnegie system inside the City. This fiber would terminate at an interconnection point common to all users. TCI would also provide collocation space and access at its four hubs.

• Non-profit groups would have the right to connect to the I-Net at the sites where the fiber terminates. The dispersion of these 140 sites throughout the City’s neighborhoods provides a broad range of access points for the community.

• Non-profit groups would be responsible for their connections to the I-Net, whether directly or through other directly connected sites.

• TCI would agree that the I-Net facilities can be used both by the I-Net participants and by connecting non-profit groups.