Business Journal: Judge Rules On Verizon Dispute, Davis' Good Scoop Expands To Midtown Sacramento

Judge Rules On Verizon, XG Communities Dispute

Verizon launched its in-home 5G internet service in Sacramento on Monday, promising super-fast speeds for users. But Scott Rodd from the Sacramento Business Journal reports there was another story about Verizon on that same day.

"A Sacramento County judge issued a ruling that the city, in working with Verizon to set up the infrastructure for its 5G service, violated an existing contract with another company," says Rodd.

In 2017, Sacramento announced a partnership with Verizon where the company pledged to invest about $100 million to make Sacramento one of the first U.S. cities with 5G connectivity. The partnership also included the roll out of smart-city technology in Sacramento, such as free Wi-Fi access in city parks and improved traffic controls at intersections.

"Unlike previous generations of wireless connectivity, which relied on those big, unsightly cell towers, Verizon would need to set up a bunch of small antennas around the city to establish a 5G network," says Rodd. "Those antennas would go on city assets like light poles, and in exchange for its investment in the city, Verizon would be granted millions of dollars in lease waivers for using those city assets. It was also granted access to city conduit to lay down fiber cables."

But the city already had a contract with another company — a wireless consulting firm called XG Communities.

"The contract was for marketing and leasing those city assets to wireless carriers," says Rodd. "XG Communities would generate revenue by taking a portion of the rent on those leased assets that would house the antennas." 

Earlier this year, the company filed a lawsuit against the city. And on Monday, the judge handed down a tentative ruling in favor of XG.

"The CEO of XG, John Clarey, told the Business Journal that there is high demand among carriers for city assets to set up antennas, and he suggested a number of the assets that support Verizon antennas could go to other carriers," says Rodd.

"The city has continued to tout the rollout of Verizon’s 5G network in Sacramento, but Mayor Steinberg’s office and the city attorney’s office didn’t provide much to the Business Journal in the way of substantive comment," says Rodd. "Also, it’s worth noting that this is a tentative ruling, which means the city has about two weeks to object to it in court before the ruling becomes final."

Davis' The Good Scoop Plans To Expand To Midtown Sacramento

It looks like a new ice cream shop will be moving into a mixed-use project at Q and 15th Streets in Sacramento.

The popular Davis ice cream shop The Good Scoop is planning to open a new location at the midtown development within the next year.

"The Good Scoop location will be among the retail tenants at the development, which have 8 1/2 stories with 75 luxury rental apartments and about 8,700 square feet of ground-floor retail space," says Rodd.

"The business places a focus on using locally-sourced ingredients, and offer both dairy and non-dairy varieties," says Rodd.

The shop offers traditional ice cream selections, but also some pretty funky ones too — such as basil ice cream.