Prairie Grove, Lincoln Approve Broadband Lease

A lease agreement with Sprint for a broadband signal license will bring Prairie Grove and Lincoln school districts $1.25 million over the next 30 years.

Prairie Grove and Lincoln school boards approved the agreements at their meetings last week.

Five school districts in Northwest Arkansas, including Siloam Springs, Elkins and Gentry, purchased a broadband signal license in 1987 with the intent of broadcasting educational television, according to Jody Wiggins, Siloam Springs assistant superintendent. The program never materialized because the required equipment was too expensive, he said.

The signal spectrum was leased to Smithco Investments in 1994 and then renewed on a 15-year term with Nucentrix Broadband Networks after they acquired Smithco in 2001. Under the agreement the school was to receive $250 per month plus a percentage of profits, but the money never materialized, Wiggins said. The lease was acquired by Clearwire in the mid 2000s and the company began paying the monthly fee. Sprint acquired Clearwire in early 2010.

The lease expired in April of 2016, and the five districts decided to hire a consultant to put together a plan for the best use of the signal. Wiggins said one idea was to see if the signal would provide free wireless broadband internet for students in Northwest Arkansas but that was not economically feasible. The consultant recommended holding a lease auction.

The broadband signal lease agreement was auctioned for $1.2 million per school district over 30 years. Sprint did not participate in the auction because its previous contract with the five districts gave the company the option to provide a counteroffer to any sale. Sprint countered with an offer of $1.25 million for each district over 30 years.

Under the new agreement, each district will receive $40,858 upfront, followed by a $2,000 per month payment, which will increase by 3 percent each year. Sprint also agreed to pay a broker fee of about $19,000 for each district.

Allen Williams, Prairie Grove superintendent, said Prairie Grove’s money will go into a miscellaneous account that is used for extra expenses. In the past, this account has been used to help pay for different expenditures, such as band and sports uniforms or to help with expenses for trips, such as students traveling to state or national competitions.

Lincoln will earmark its revenue for technology, said Superintendent Mary Ann Spears.