The Vancouver City Council approved a 10-year, nonexclusive franchise ordinance on July 14 allowing Flying Bull Internet LLC (doing business as Novos Fiber/Prime Fiber) to construct and maintain telecommunications facilities in city rights-of-way. The franchise followed staff negotiations intended to balance local aesthetics, public health and continued city control of its streets.
Aaron Landy, city staff, summarized the franchise and said staff had been negotiating terms with Flying Bull and that the franchise can be extended by mutual agreement. Jay Dry of the Washington State Department of Transportation presented an unrelated award earlier in the meeting, and Rob Klug (WSDOT local programs engineer) also spoke during that recognition; both were not part of the franchise discussion but appeared on the agenda the same evening.
Three public commenters spoke during the franchise hearing with concerns centered on emergency-alerts and the reliability of telecommunications during disasters. A commenter asked whether the new franchise arrangements could be used to ensure emergency alerts reach residents who rely on landlines, and urged the council to consider contract language to guarantee emergency-notification capability. Carmen De Leon and other speakers raised broader worries about additional infrastructure, satellite proliferation and the social effects of expanded internet access.
Councilors voted unanimously to approve the franchise ordinance for Flying Bull/Novos/Prime Fiber in a roll call that recorded all yes votes. Earlier, on the consent agenda, the council also adopted an ordinance granting a franchise to Metro Fiber Net LLC and its affiliates to operate a telecommunications system in city rights-of-way; that consent item passed as part of items 1–12.
Staff said the Flying Bull franchise would be for 10 years and that negotiations with the company aimed to protect local character while enabling deployment. Council did not commit to specific emergency-alert technical requirements during the hearing; city staff noted that registration with regional emergency systems (CRESA) and other notification tools are available and urged commenters to register landline numbers.