Image
Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
iProvo Decision Spurs Civic Discussion
By
on
Jesse Harris, of the excellent Free UTOPIA blog, gave a presentation explaining broadband network concepts and definitions without technical jargon. He also offered a history and recent events update about iProvo in a special meeting. If you want to learn more about the group sponsoring the event, this is apparently the best place to check in.
iProvo was a muni fiber network that was hobbled by the Comcast and Qwest-controlled Utah Legislature. After years of struggling in the face of unique barriers only aimed at publicly owned networks, the local government decided to privatize the network. Unfortunately, the private partner has not succeeded either, leaving Provo with a difficult decision ahead.
Jesse explains some of the history in this short presentation and then takes some excellent questions from the audience. Those of us familiar with different types of broadband technology may skip ahead to the part specifically about iProvo.
Well done, Jesse.
Related Stories
Municipal Broadband Opposition Campaign in Bountiful, Utah Fails
Bountiful, Utah officials and community broadband advocates are breathing a sigh of relief as the Utah Taxpayers Association’s “Gather Utah” petition to stop the city from building an open-access network in partnership with UTOPIA Fiber fell short. This past Friday was the deadline for “Gather Utah” to collect enough signatures for a petition that would have forced a citywide vote on the $43 million in revenue bonds authorized in May by city councilors to fund network construction.
Garden Spot of Utah Moves to Build Bountiful Fiber Network in Face of Dark Money Campaign
Bountiful, Utah officials have settled on a plan to bring Bountiful Fiber and affordable connectivity to its residents and businesses. By unanimous vote of the city council, the issuance of $48 million in bonds was recently authorized to fund construction of what will be a city-owned open access fiber network. A dark money campaign spearheaded by the Utah Taxpayers Association (UTA), however, is threatening to derail the project.
CA Broadband Activists Aim For Big Wins On Mapping, Cable Franchise Reform
Thanks to a coalition of local digital equity advocates inroads are being made on fixing long-broken California cable franchise law as Digital Equity LA celebrates a major victory in pressuring the California Public Utilities Commission to produce more accurate maps that will be used to determine where the state's broadband funds should be targeted. These efforts come as California is putting its $7 billion broadband expansion plan into place with an eye on boosting competition and driving down consumer costs.
Watch: What It's Like to Live in the Bermuda Triangle of Internet Access
On the most recent episode of the Connect This! Show, Geoff joins to share what happened when he moved to a house and discovered that it was in the Bermuda Triangle of broadband service, and what he's done to try and fix it.
Nearly $1 Billion in Rescue Plan Funds Heads to Six States
The U.S. Treasury Department announced another six states have been approved to receive nearly $1 billion in Capital Projects Funds from the American Rescue Plan to bring new broadband infrastructure to more than 180,000 homes and businesses.
Lehi City, Utah Breaks Ground On Open Access Fiber Network
Lehi City, Utah has broken ground on its new citywide fiber optic broadband network. The network, which city leaders say should take somewhere around three years to complete, will be built on the back of Lehi’s Utilities Department, part of a growing trend of U.S. utilities using an historic infusion of federal funding to expand affordable broadband connectivity. The Lehi Fiber Network will operate as an open access network, meaning that multiple ISPs will be able to utilize the city’s new infrastructure, providing a much-needed dose of broadband competition to local residents and businesses alike. Five ISPs have already committed to providing service over the city-owned fiber.