Network buyout getting off to a rocky start

Things haven't exactly been smooth for Broadweave as it takes over the iProvo fiber system.

• The deal is apparently so complex that the sale couldn't be completed by the June 30 deadline. Instead, the city of Provo mostly completed its end of the sale while Broadweave is taking an extra 60 days to close on the acquisition of customers from service providers Mstar and Nuvont.

• The buyout of service provider Veracity failed. The buyout was supposed to give Broadweave built-in engineering and customer service support out of the gate as well as high-revenue business customers. Veracity executives blame Broadweave's inability to complete the purchase of iProvo by the promised date.

• Sorenson Capital, financial backers for Broadweave's move, claim to still be doing their "due diligence" on the sale and decline to say more. Founded by Utah icon Fraser Bullock and worth hundreds of millions of dollars, Sorenson is supposed to be the calming factor in the deal.

And that's just the business end of things. Customers have seen the good and the bad:

• Broadweave stepped up and transitioned more than 1,000 Mstar phone customers early after that company's phone service provider cut them off because of an alleged lack of payment.

• Many Mstar customers saw some substantial slowdowns beginning Tuesday. Broadweave general counsel Jay Cobb said in an e-mail that it was a "technical glitch" that has now been fixed and that all customers should be receiving full-speed Internet.

• That glitch resulted in an overwhelmed customer-service force (remember the failed Veracity buyout) that made it nearly impossible for customers to get through. Cobb says that has also been resolved.

• Broadweave has begun mailing out bills. You may have noticed a due date of July 1 despite the fact that it came after that. Cobb says a grace period will be extended this month until the 21st for those who wish to stay on the fiber system.

• What is likely the most common Internet plan -- 15 Mbps download speed, 5 Mbps upload -- has steadily climbed in price. Broadweave originally announced it would cost $39.99 per month. Up until Saturday, it was priced on the company's Web site at $42.99. But on the mailed billing statements and now at Broadweave.com, the price has reached $43.99.

Provo city, which rattled lawmakers and telecom businesses alike when it announced it would be publicly financing the construction of the iProvo system years ago, is all but out of the fiber business. The $40.6 million sale to Broadweave came after the system was successfully built and providing services. But it was losing millions of dollars a year. All that's left is training the new owner's employees on some of the equipment.

"We have a couple of employees who are still over in the network operation center who will be out of there in the next seven to 10 days," said Bruce Riddle, Provo's transition team leader.