|
WHY MUNICIPALITIES CAN DELIVER WHAT INCUMBENTS CANNOT
- Investment driven by factors other than profit (i.e. economic growth & quality of life)
- Competitive Pricing, as there are no shareholders to take profits from system
- Property tax exemption yields less costs
- Fiber is more efficient to operate and maintain than traditional copper or cable systems
- Tax-exempt financing may be utilized (situation permitting), thus lowering interest costs
- Municipalities often have utility divisions (electrical, water, etc.) which provides for cross-utilization of resources
MARKET FOCUS:
MCM intends to structure financings for fiber optic ultra-broadband networks that are:
- Owned by municipalities
- Demanded by residents based on lack of alternatives from incumbents
- Capable of providing multiple services (e.g., telephone, internet, video, etc.)
- Supported by a financially sound business plan
- Deployed using a cooperative effort with the municipality's existing utility
MCM will focus on projects in communities with populations ranging from 15,000 to 250,000,
(representing $50 - $100 Billion of potential construction over the next 5 years).
OBSOLESCENCE RISK
When evaluating any technology, obsolescence risk is certainly a major consideration. In the case of an ultra-broadband fiber system, obsolescence risk is mitigated because:
- Fiber is very dynamic and adaptable, and if appropriate can be integrated with other technologies (such as wireless, powerline technologies, or radio frequency transmission)
- Fiber transfers data at the speed of light (other technologies utilize fiber optic backbones so it is unlikely anything faster can prevail)
- Engineering is relatively flexible
- Systems are designed and built with excess capacity (once the trenches are open, the costs to lay additional capacity is nominal)
- Although some system components have an expected life of 7-10 years, the Fiber (which represents the largest percent of project costs) is expected to have a useful life of 20-25 years (note that cable technology has lasted 20+ years and copper has lasted 100+ years)
The case for fiber is substantiated by the fact that countries leading broadband deployment (such as Canada, Korea, Japan, Sweden) have continually implemented fiber systems.
MUNICIPAL CONTRIBUTIONS
The municipality and/or its utility division will provide certain financial and non-financial contributions to the Project, as follows:
- Funding for initial studies to estimate demand, project costs, and deployment strategies
- Acquisition of required permits and rights-of-way
- Contribution of existing fiber optic and other telecommunications facilities owned (e.g., dark fiber, fiber links between municipal buildings, etc.)
- Accessibility of infrastructure to facilitate deployment (including pole attachments and underground conduit access)
- Contractual arrangements, committing the utility and/or the municipality to provide service and maintenance equipment and personnel for the project
- Contractual arrangements committing local governmental agencies which use high-speed telecommunications (such as administration, libraries, schools, police, fire, and hospitals) to take services provided by the Project (thus creating an anchor tenant)
- Marketing support will be provided by the utility to take advantage of its customer base
SECURITY:
Lenders will have a collateral interest in the assets that make up the Project, including:
- Security interest in Project assets
- Rights to receive all revenues and receivables from the Project
- Security interest in all licenses and contracts
- Security interest in all cash balances
- Other revenues or security, determined on a case by case basis
To further enhance the credit, municipalities will covenant to maintain rates at levels
sufficient to meet minimum debt service coverage requirements.
STRUCTURING:
If deemed appropriate, a Senior/Subordinate Structure may be utilized as follows:
| SENIOR DEBT |
The Senior Debt traunch will be structured to provide: |
|
Approximately 2.0 to 2.75 times debt service coverage at the likely take rate level |
|
Amortization with a modest ramp-up of debt payments in the early years. Level amortization will occur no later than year five |
|
Break-even upon achieving a 15% customer penetration rate |
|
A first lien on all revenues and assets of the Project |
| SUBORDINATE DEBT |
The Subordinated Debt traunch will be structured to provide: |
|
Approximately 1.75 to 2.5 times debt service coverage (when combined with the Senior Debt) at the likely take rate level |
|
Fifteen to twenty year amortization |
|
Break-even upon achieving a 22% customer penetration rate |
|
A second lien on all revenues and assets of the Project |
TAX STATUS
Depending on the structure of each particular transaction, there exists a possibility that
revenues generated through contracts with for-profit service providers could prohibit the use
of tax-exempt financing; accordingly, financings may be structured as taxable or tax-exempt debt.
RECURRING INVESTMENT PROGRAM
It is anticipated that capital requirements for individual projects will begin in the $20 - $30 Million range, and larger projects may require funding in the range of $100 Million. Continued growth in this sector, and MCM's commitment to be a leader in this industry, present the opportunity for a recurring investment program.
MUNICIPAL TELECOM SUCCESS STORIES
Following is a summary of penetration rates experienced by municipalities which have successfully offered cable TV and internet service to their communities:
| MUNICIPALITY |
AGE OF NETWORK (IN YEARS) |
TAKE RATE |
| Glasgow, KY |
9 |
70% |
| Cedar Falls, IA |
6 |
70% |
| Harlan, IA |
6 |
69% |
| Coldwater, MI |
5 |
65% |
| Lebanon, OH |
5 |
45% |
| Sacramento, CA |
3 |
45% |
|
Ashland, OR |
3 |
35% |
| Paragould, AR |
2 |
80% |
| Scottsboro, AL |
2 |
67% |
| Newman, GA |
2 |
55% |
| Bristol, VA |
1 |
28% |
< Previous | Next >
|