Broadband Bytes for 2014-08-22

10 Responses to Broadband Bytes for 2014-08-22

1. Steven Whitehead says:

   August 24, 2014 at 10:48 am

   In the article on First Digital and Centerville there is a picture of
   the Utopia mobile command center. Utopia continues to bleed
   money and they have a very expensive motor home? I still come
   back to what I said in the discussion with the city council in Payson that I think what has happened with Utopia is criminal in nature.
   Those who took our money and then did not deliver on their promises should be prosecuted!!

   Reply
   • Mike says:

     September 8, 2014 at 12:35 am

     I submit that you should then direct your ire to your elected representatives at the State Legislature, which passed laws after Utopia was started that effectively hamstrung the original business plan.

     You might also direct ire at elected city representatives that aren’t fulfilling their obligations to pay for the shortfall.

     Ire should probably also be directed at CenturyLink for suing utopia, miring them in a decade-long legal dispute, consuming resources that would much better be spent actually deploying fiber, but is instead going to line the pockets of lawyers.

     Ire should also be directed at the UTA, for wasting even more of Utopia’s money to defend themselves.

     Is there blame to be had with UTOPIA management? probably… but then again, “if” they hadn’t been hamstrung from their original business plan, and “if” they hadn’t been saddled with endless legal yammering, and “if” they were able to more effectively advertise (which would be possible of the other two parts weren’t in play) then the discussion would be very different.

     “if” the network wasn’t in the hands of rank amateurs (and for the record, FirstDigital doesn’t appear to have any track record at all, unlike MacQuarrie, which although they don’t have much experience with running a network, have a long history of successful and profitable public-private partnerships, and know where they didn’t have expertise, and are willing to bring in established companies that DO have track record in the industry)

     If we don’t lay the blame where it properly belongs, then we run the risk of repeating the same mistakes next time around. Or being stuck with overpriced and underperforming internet like the rest of the USA.

     If UTOPIA goes dark in Payson, I will have to pay more than 3 times as much for less than half the service that I currently receive. In effect, my internet bill will increase by 6x….

     For all of their failings, they are able to provide faster, more reliable internet. Even if it wasn’t cheaper than comcast, I’d gladly pay the same rates as comcast, to get more than double the throughput and immeasurably better support. If they were able to advertise effectively, and people could see through the cloud of FUD sown by CenturyLink and Comcast, there would be no problem signing up enough customers to foot the bill (which, of course, is what Macquarie is counting on: fix the management and fix the advertising, and you will have a viable business).

     Reply
     • Greg says:

       September 8, 2014 at 10:37 am

       Well said.

       Reply
2. Ronald D. Hunt says:

   August 25, 2014 at 9:09 am

   That mobile command center isn’t just a vehicle for advertisement, its also a backup CO on wheels, and can be used to replace one of them little utopia shacks should one ever be damaged beyond repair(from a flood or fire or something for example).

   Any network that claims to be carrier grade is going to have a few of these expensive motor homes, CT puts theirs on semi truck trailers.

   Find a use for the thing when stuff isn’t broke is actually very laudable.

   Reply
3. Greg says:

   August 29, 2014 at 8:54 am

   Weren’t they supposed to release Milestone 2 details yesterday? I can’t seem to find where I saw that information, but I remember something about the 27th of August.

   Reply
   • Jesse says:

     September 7, 2014 at 9:20 am

     Yeah, my math is that they should have had it ready then. I’m trying to track that down now.

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     • Greg says:

       September 8, 2014 at 10:39 am

       Could the cities be holding off on having Macquarie provide their milestone 2 report until after they find a way to have citizens vote on it?

       From what I understand, the cities have already paid the fees to move to milestone 2, so waiting on community votes isn’t really relevant, since the Milestone 2 information will be provided either way…a “No” vote from the communities/households will simply mean we don’t move to Milestone 3.

       Reply
       • Jesse says:

         September 8, 2014 at 9:41 pm

         I hear there’s some negotiation going on for the final deal, but they’re really close. I would expect something this month.

         Reply
         • Greg says:

           September 23, 2014 at 12:20 pm

           That would be awesome!

           Reply
4. Ronald D. Hunt says:

   September 9, 2014 at 7:50 pm

   I am guessing final costs came up a bit more different, then originally projected.

   UTA pushing Orem out might actually have improved chances of this thing going through elsewhere due to the better soil conditions(aka cheaper to build in) in the remaining cities.

   But who knows, can’t wait to see the numbers, I plan to give ms2 report a very close inspection.

   Reply