Wireless Tower Dispute May Derail BVU Optinet Municipal Broadband Sale

A planned municipal broadband sale of BVU Optinet is in jeopardy, thanks to a disagreement regarding wireless tower assets. One of the early pioneers in municipal broadband, Bristol (VA) based BVU Optinet was put up for sale back in February 2016 for $50 million to Sunset Digital Communications. That deal may now be in trouble.

A government oversight board, the Virginia Coalfield Coalition (VCC) approved the sale of BVU Optinet to Sunset Digital, but with conditions that Sunset now objects to. The board wants operational control of the wireless tower network currently operated by BVU Optinet transferred to a different service provider, Scott County Telephone Cooperative. BVU operates 22 wireless towers throughout the region, and is valued at $14 million. There is a difference of opinion between the VCC and Sunset as to whether the tower network was a part of the original $50 million deal. Sunset Digital is calling foul, and says that condition could kill the deal. “Those are conditions that we [previously] said were not acceptable,” said Jeff Mitchell, an attorney for Sunset Digital.