Members of the Virginia Coalfield Coalition—a nonprofit entity created to oversee a 38-tower 4G network across seven counties in southwest Virginia—are calling for the group to revisit its vote on a transaction involving a deal between the Bristol, VA Utilities (BVU) Authority and Sunset Digital Communications, reports the Herald Courier.
The board voted 8-3 to approve a resolution last week that allowed Sunset to acquire the OptiNet network previously owned by the BVU, but imposed several restrictions on Sunset; it also transferred the operation of BVU’s 4G cell tower network to the Scott County Telephone Cooperative (SCTC).
Under the resolution, Sunset would be required to pay $250,000 to purchase equipment that would enable SCTC to operate the cell tower network; it also requires Sunset grant-free access to SCTC for six of 144 strands inside fiber-optic cables that connect the tower network.
The three members who voted against the resolution are calling for the coalition to revisit the proposed agreement due to their disagreements with the restrictions placed on Sunset and the transfer of the cell tower network to SCTC. Sunset’s attorney Jeff Mitchell has railed against the conditions, calling them “unacceptable” and adding that they threaten the completion of the roughly $50 million deal.
Sunset released a statement earlier this week cheering the three coalition members for their resolve. “We thank them for their leadership and their courage,” Sunset said in the statement. “We believe there are many well-meaning members of the board of directors and we appreciate the many positive and supportive comments from them following the meeting. We remain confident that, when provided with the complete facts, a majority of the members of the board of directors will support the purchase of OptiNet by Sunset and the transfer of the wireless 4G contract from BVU to Sunset.”
June 28, 2017
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