a. No telecommunications corporation shall install, maintain, construct or operate telecommunications facilities in any public highway in the City, or provide telecommunications services or interstate telecommunications services by means of such facilities, unless a license to use the highways to provide telecommunications services and interstate telecommunications services as appropriate has first been granted by the City Council under this chapter or a franchise awarded by the electorate under Article XIII of the Arizona Constitution and this chapter to such telecommunications corporation.

b. Notwithstanding subsection (a), any telecommunications corporation that was providing telecommunications service within this State on November 1, 1997 pursuant to a grant made to it or its lawful predecessors prior to the effective date of the Arizona Constitution, may continue to provide telecommunications services pursuant to that state grant, until and unless the state grant is lawfully repealed, revoked or amended, and need not obtain any further grant from the City to provide telecommunication services; provided, however, that such entity must in all other respects comply with the requirements applicable to telecommunications corporations as provided in Title 9, Chapter 5, Article 7 of the Arizona Revised Statutes.

c. Nothing in this ordinance shall be deemed to affect the terms or conditions of any franchise, license or permit issued by the City prior to the effective date of the adoption of this ordinance or if this ordinance is amended, the effective date of the adoption of such amendments to this ordinance, or to release any party from its obligations thereunder. Existing franchises, licenses or permits shall remain fully enforceable in accordance with their terms. The City Manager, with the consent of the City Council, may enter into agreements with franchise holders, licensees or permittees to modify or terminate an existing franchise, license or agreement.

d. A franchise or license to any telecommunications corporation to use the highways to install, maintain, construct or operate telecommunications facilities or to provide telecommunications services or interstate telecommunications services under this chapter shall not authorize the use of the highways to provide any other service; nor shall the issuance of the same invalidate any franchise, license or permit that authorizes the use of the highways for such other services; nor shall the fact that a telecommunications corporation holds a franchise, license or permit to make any other use of the highway or to provide any other service, authorize installation, maintenance, construction or operation of telecommunications facilities in any highway in the City, or permit such telecommunications corporation to provide telecommunications services or interstate telecommunications services by means of such facilities without obtaining a license or franchise hereunder.

e. Any license or franchise granted shall not be exclusive.

f. A telecommunications licensee may enter into contracts for use of interstate telecommunications services facilities within the public highways to provide telecommunications services. Persons using such licensee’s facilities must themselves obtain a telecommunications license if such person constructs, installs, operates or maintains telecommunication facilities within the public highway of the City/town. If the persons using such licensee’s facilities do not construct, install, operate or maintain telecommunications facilities within the public highway of the City/town, such persons need not obtain a separate license but the telecommunications licensee must disclose the identity of such persons to the City/town. (Ord. No. G-4060, § 1, 1997; Ord. No. G-4135, § 1, 1998; Ord. No. G-4351, § 1D, 2001)