Partnership to bring fiber internet to West Mountain, Lake Shore areas

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald
Rocky Top Fruit Farm is pictured with West Mountain in the background on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in West Mountain.High-speed fiber internet is expected to come to the West Mountain and Lake Shore communities of southern Utah County by the end of 2026.
Internet provider Utah Broadband announced Wednesday it will deliver fiber internet to over 1,000 homes and businesses in the area through a partnership with South Utah Valley Electrical Service District, or SESD.
A $6 million grant will fund the project, which began this month.
The grant was awarded to SESD, a public power entity that provides electric service in southern Utah County, through the Utah Broadband Center, part of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity. The grant funds were provided by the U.S. Treasury’s Capital Projects Funds, according to a release.
“SESD is thrilled to collaborate with Utah Broadband to expand internet options for the West Mountain and Lake Shore areas within our service district,” SESD board chairman Raymond Loveless said in a statement. “Enhanced connectivity will not only improve access to essential services but also enable SESD to provide better electrical services for our customers across the district. This partnership allows both entities to combine resources, expertise, and insights to achieve common goals without adding costs for our electrical customers.”
Utah Broadband CEO Ben Elkins told the Daily Herald the current internet options in the area are limited. For instance, Utah’s largest provider, Xfinity, is unavailable.
When SESD received the grant money for the project, it made a bid to determine which provider to partner with and selected Utah Broadband, which is a subsidiary of the Boston Omaha Corp.
“I think there were about six or seven different carriers that bid for it, and we ended up winning the bid,” Elkins said. “It was pretty important for us to get a territory in the Wasatch Front, and that was an area that we wanted. We see a lot of growth in that area. It was a really good bid. Really good fit.”
Fiber internet will be available in every home in the area, Elkins said. The project is expected to be completed by December 2026.
Though residents and businesses still will be able to partner with a different internet provider, the assumption is a high percentage of people will purchase internet through Utah Broadband.
“We’ll get a very, very high take there, just because the internet is very poor in that community,” Elkins said. “They don’t have to pick us as their vendor, but the electric co-op chose us. We’ll be the only fiber provider in that town.”
Both census-designated areas of Utah County, West Mountain has 1,267 residents, while Lake Shore has 1,235 residents, according to the 2022 United State census.
Elkins believes the project will be significant for the communities because fiber internet can enhance quality of life.
“You can actually work from home better, or actually have the option to work from home,” he said. “When you don’t have good internet service at home, there’s no way you could work from home. Telehealth, you can actually do your doctor’s appointments from home. Homeschooling is available if you have a good internet provider. So those are kind of the big three check marks for us — not to mention, the reliability of fiber is so much better than, say, cable. It’s the best product you can get.”