On January 29, 2020 the city received a letter from Centurylink informing us that they would be discontinuing their cable television service. At the end of 2020, Centurylink left the cable tv market, not only in Shakopee, but throughout the country. Centurylink still has a presence in Shakopee, but only in broadband service, not in cable TV. The city can only have franchise agreements for cable TV, not for fiber or broadband services. 

The city's cable franchise attorney negotiated an agreement with Centurylink to terminate their franchise agreement and settle any potential claims. This agreement requires Centurylink to remove any equipment from city right of ways that is dedicated to providing cable TV and requires a payment from Centurylink to the city in the amount of $3,000. It is unlikely that Centurylink will be removing any equipment from the right of way since their cable TV product was largely on data lines, which will remain for the provision of broadband internet. The $3,000 payment pays for the city's attorneys fees to negotiate the settlement.