Vineyard is considering membership in the Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency.

A consortium of Utah cities connected by a fiber-optic network to businesses and homes, UTOPIA provides member communities with the infrastructure for digital TV, Internet and phone hookups.

UTOPIA representatives John Park and Roger Black presented a draft agreement at a recent city meeting and discussed the possibility of the town joining its network.

UTOPIA representatives did not know how much it would cost the town to join. The Vineyard Town Council requested that UTOPIA do a cost assessment and bring it to the next town meeting.

"This is an unusual system," Park said. "We build a fiber-optic system, and competitors can write over it, enhancing competition. It is the fastest, most robust forward-thinking [system] built in the United States."

There are two ways for the city to use UTOPIA. Vineyard can either become a member, meaning it will choose to pledge to UTOPIA, and have someone as a member of the board of directors of UTOPIA, or it can become a member and not pledge, meaning UTOPIA is not guaranteed to get fiber-optic strands in the city.

"We are required to put in the [fiber-optic services] if you pledge. If you don't pledge, we use our best efforts," Black said.

The pledge is to satisfy state law.

"[Vineyard] sets aside money for a pledge," Black said, as an example of how the process would work. "We then set aside those finances we receive, based on the pledge, for one year to satisfy state law. There will be no draw on the money, and at the end of the period, we return the money to you with interest."

UTOPIA's fiber-optic system is completely scalable, meaning customers can choose the speed of service they want to pay for, and can get faster service if future technology requires it.

"We connect [houses] to the fiber-optic system and in five or seven years, when they need additional speed, we only need to change the lasers at [that house]," Park said.

UTOPIA wants Vineyard to join now before the city builds any new developments so installers can put the system in without having to rip up any roads, Park said.

UTOPIA is already in Orem, and Vineyard would use the same system.

"All we would do is extend Orem's system down University Parkway through Sleepy Ridge," Park said. "It would be very inexpensive."

UTOPIA offers the fiber-optic service through five different service providers: AT&T, mStar, Nuvont Communications, Veracity Communications, and XMission.

"For instance, if you go with mStar ... and choose the package with unlimited local and long distance in Canada and the United States, and 15 megabytes of Internet, it would be $109 per month," Park said.

Right now, if a resident wanted fiber-optic service, and their house wasn't appropriately wired, most service providers would waive the fee to put the fiber-optic connection in for a consecutive year agreement, such as a two-year agreement. UTOPIA borrows funds to pay for the infrastructure and subscribers essentially pay UTOPIA that money.

Roger Black said property values would increase by $5,000 simply by having the fiber-optic option.

Black said DSL and cable cannot grow and expand like the fiber-optic system can. Communities on the East Coast already have redone their lines with fiber-optic networks, he said.

"Other cities are going to want to do this," John Park said. "The system does the same to serve 5,000 today and 50,000 in 10 years."

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B1.