I honestly did not expect this. Despite being one of the few cities with a near-complete network, Tremonton voted 5-0 last night to move forward with Milestone Two. This makes the tally so far four in favor (including Midvale, West Valley City, and Layton) and one against (Lindon). Votes are still scheduled in Orem, Centerville, and Murray. Payson and Brigham City have both been discussing it, but Perry has been pretty quiet.
If you live in a city that hasn’t voted, there’s still time to talk to them and urge them to move forward with Milestone Two. Check the list of events to get an idea of the when and where of what I know or contact your city directly.
UPDATE: Payson votes tonight at 6PM.
This really says something right here, Tremontor doesn’t really have anything to gain outside of the upgrades, and low cost to the tax payer.
If Tremonton has a nearly complete network, perhaps they better understand the benefits of UTOPIA and their vote is the result. Do we know what the take rate in Tremonton is?
Would also love to hear what the council members say about their positive vote.
Per the Milestone One report, it’s a scant 13% of marketable homes. Ouch.
Maybe Tremonton sees the rebranding and advertising of the network as a takeoff point for widespread acceptance of premium fiber services. If that is the case, I am betting they have their eyes on the revenue they will be getting, even if it only offsets their bond obligations.
On the flip side, with such a low current take rate, I have a hard time envisioning much change considering the residents will be getting a “free” basic internet service out of the deal. Was the high cost of entry prohibitive for the other 87% or is the demand simply not there?
Good point. Were they required to pay the large upfront fee?
All excellent questions. Tremonton was built with the RUS loan money and completed as part of the refinance in 2008. They are all effectively “lease” customers. I’m betting that more people aren’t signing up because of the install fee. Given the craptacular options available outside of UTOPIA, I’m surprised the take rate is so dang low. Someone totally dropped the ball up there.
Tremonton’s ILEC is Frontier. That is deserving of some attention, because CenturyLink and Comcast tend to get all of the bad incumbent press. I think Tremonton’s leadership simply understands that the most likely path to success is the Macquarie proposal. Stay tuned for Brigham City and Perry decisions.