Getting Connected: The Community Assocition's Guide to Telecommunications Management

Getting Connected: The Community Association's Guide to Telecommunications Management An association resident installs a satellite antenna on her balcony. What can your community association do? Your association chooses to install a central satellite antenna system. What terms are important to include in any contract? "Getting Connected" answers these and other telecommunications questions, from complying with the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) antenna and inside wiring rules to determining your association's telecommunications needs and ways to negotiate competitive contracts with telecommunications providers. Cable television and internet lines, satellite television, fiber-optic wiring, cellular antennas, and other telecommunications technologies have become an expected part of mainstream everyday life. For community associations, the traditional "hands-off" approach, which worked effectively in dealing with phone and cable companies in the past, no longer is a feasible or responsible way to managing telecommunications in a competitive, rapidly changing environment. "Getting Connected" is intended to help associations to recognize, understand and manage the most significant aspects of the new telecommunications environment. One area covered in depth is the Federal Communications Commissions's "Over-the-Air Reception Devices (OTARD) Rule. "Getting Connected" also expands the discussion beyond the OTARD rule to examine how associations can manage other important telecommunications challenges and opportunities to make additional services available to residents while minimizing potential difficulties. Topics include: * How an association should prepare for negotiations with provider seeking to serve association residents or use common property * What liability and security concerns should be addressed * How telephone and cable inside wiring rules may affect an association's telecommunications planning "Getting Connected" includes a number of useful model forms, including: * Model Format for Filing a Petition for Declaratory Ruling or Petition for Waiver * Model Notice of Initiation of a Petition for Declaratory Ruling, Petition for Waiver, or Court Action * Model Rules and Restrictions for Antenna Installation, Maintenance and Use * Model Letter to Association Residents Regarding Covered Antenna Rules and Restrictions * Model Notification Form Regarding Antenna Installation * Model Approval Form for Installation of Oversized Masts * Model Resident Telecommunications Questionnaire * Checklist of Key License Agreement Terms * Central Antenna System License Agreement * Model Letter to Residents Regarding Central Antenna Installation * Telecommunications License Agreement * Exterior Telecommunications Facilities Site License Agreement "Getting Connected" introduces you to the rapidly expanding variety of telecommunications services available to community associations and provides model rules, documents, and agreements that would cost thousands of dollars in legal fees. This publication is a must for every community association, board member, manager, and attorney.