This thread discusses the Content article: The case for UTOPIA and iProvo: Double down or cut bait?

The article said:

"Many who bought into the idea of a government-run fiber-optic network did so because they were frustrated with the broadband offerings of incumbent telecoms Qwest and Comcast, and were seduced by the promise of next-generation ultra-high-speed Internet and other services that only fiber-to-the-home has the capacity to handle."

While the above may be true, it ignores the fact that most of the local elected officials who made these decisions did so because they were told it was virtually risk-free! If they had been told there was a pretty good chance all the projections were way optimistic and they would likely need to kick in their local sales tax someday to keep the project afloat, would it have been approved? I don't think so!

These local leaders, in general, knew almost nothing about the inner workings of a telecom system except for what their consultants told them. And, instead of worrying about covering huge losses, they were thinking about all the money they were actually going to MAKE off this system and all the cool new services this windfall would allow them to add in their communities.

Hasn't worked out quite as planned, has it? At least this time around, I don't hear anyone mentioning the possibility of our cities making big bucks off UTOPIA... so it seems we're slowly getting a little more real....

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So, where-when is the DELIVERY of 100 Mega Bites per Second?


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I have not had anything to do with Utopia so I can’t speak about them. IProvo on the other hand I have had plenty of experience with them and I am sorry to say it’s all been bad.

First we can’t start with the incompetent installers they hire to put in their systems.
We wired the entire house to a central box that controls all Ethernet, cable and phone lines so all Iprovo had to do was drop in and connect to our box. Instead of doing that they drilled a hole in the ceiling and in the walls for the boxes and then moved them leaving all the holes in the walls. They never came back out to fix it.

Now let’s move on to the service.
24hr call center my butt. All that means is someone is there to take your complaint 24 hours a day and someone that might be able to help you will call back within 2days to never.

There internet speed is nowhere near what they promised and there cable goes in and out and keeps getting digital feedback on it. The phone when working is alright.

I vote to cut IProvo. It’s a crap shoot, with crappy customer service.

Switched to Comcast, the internet is just as fast as IProvo but less money and they actually told me what I was going to be getting and I have not been disappointed.

There TV is by far superior

I have the MStar service with UTOPIA and I think it is great. Other neighbors have XMission and they also are very satisfied. I've had Qwest (horrible experience) and Comcast (did everything they said it would with no problems), but this is much better.

I have a much faster connection, and it is symmetrical (same speed to upload as download). That means I can telecommute as if I was physically in my office. I use Vonage (a Voice Over Internet Protocol service) for my phone and I am switching to Dish for my TV needs (mainly because they offer the cheapest HD system).

So, my vote is to keep UTOPIA moving along, but build out where the interest is first. Don't charge businesses extra, at least now, so there is incentive for them to use it and their employees to see it. Tout the advantages of telecommuting and give employees of those companies a discount. And mostly, get more providers.

As a personal user of iProvo ( internet only) for 4 years, I can say it was the BEST system I have ever used. It was rarely down. No need for 24 hour support as I NEVER called needing it. As part of a MUD... my speed was only 1.5 megs. Yes it is slower than others but we were the first in our area and part of the experimental phase. 1.5 megs was plenty. PLENTY. I am currently on "1.5 meg" wireless which opponents at the city council mtg said would take over the world. NOT EVEN CLOSE. Wireless is junk compared to my fiber optics experience.

The problem with the system, as I see it are:
1. The old boys in city gov didn't hire the right people. They ran it themselves. They should have brought in an expert who knew how to leverage the bandwidth of the network to provide services. Comcast has excelled at this. iProvo needs to do the same.
2. One initial provider, then two, now only three providers. OPEN IT UP!! Let any company who wants to be an ISP run on it. XMISSION should have been on from the beginning... except iProvo "good ole boys" only wanted triple play partners. Short sighted HOGWASH. Again, not the right people in place.
3. Where are the much talked about and promised features like BYU or USVC classes that were supposed to be available? Or community education classes? I'd pay $10 per class to virtually attend CE. Where is it? Again, not the right people in place

To the gentleman who said download speeds never matched what promised? In the 30 unit complex we NEVER, had problems with download speed that weren't tied to "USER ERROR". That means you! Comcast 8 meg download doesn't rival 10 or 15 or now, 50 meg speeds! Do you work for Comcast? Try uploading at 600kbps? Enjoy twiddling your fingers.

To Debater: If you could ever achieve 100 meg speeds it would be a fluke cause outside of iProvo the sytem can't handle 100 meg speeds.. too much traffic. Servers too busy to dish out your info at 100 megs/sec. Your expectations aren't realistic.

Were projections overly optimistic? Appears so.. but that is because Comcast and Qwest have cut their prices to compete. Don't fool yourself - you wouldn't have 1. pricing you now have from comcast or 2. upgrade of their system without iPRovo. You'd still be sitting there with 256k DSL!

What we need is the state legislators to allow iProvo to run like the power company! It is infrastructure. By having to wholesale you lose margin. That margin could be used to make up the difference.


PRovi city.. adjust. Make the needed changes in leadership and features -not in pricing and installation and the residents of provo will jump on in a heartbeat!

Long live iProvo!

As it is funded with bonds, that means users are paying for the service twice...once with taxes, and again with the fees. What will they do if fiber optics become obsolete before the bonds are paid off?