Author Archives: Jesse

UTOPIA Sues RUS

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I can’t say this is unexpected. UTOPIA has filed a lawsuit against RUS for failing to live up to their contractual obligations under the loan taken out several years ago. The delay in reimbursement caused a lot of strain on UTOPIA vendors, delayed network deployment, and left UTOPIA on the hook for millions of dollars in authorized but unreimbursed expenditures. I’m still waiting for a copy of the court filing so I can see their specific claims, but I would bet that they’ve got a pretty solid case and are asking for a pretty hefty amount in punitive and actual damages.

Broadband Bytes for 2011-09-10

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Broadband Bytes for 2011-09-03

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Broadband Bytes for 2011-08-27

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Broadband Bytes for 2011-08-20

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  • When will Centerville have @UTOPIAnet service? Try October. http://t.co/ktpATuR #
  • @mxmissile @UTOPIAnet It's in progress as part of the ARRA-funded build-out. If you live near a gov bldg or hospital, it should be close. #
  • @lightguardjp @utopianet It's a pretty simple formula. No money == no network. I don't expect that to change anytime soon. #
  • @lightguardjp @utopianet You've got the right-of-way already cleared. That's a big step. #
  • Odds are good that your ISP is actually making money from P2P. http://t.co/d03rBE0 #
  • Fox and ABC respond to piracy concerns by making legal content even less available. http://t.co/QPpAqHA #
  • @lightguardjp The 8-day window is intentional. If you miss a week, you can't catch up in time for the next live airing. #
  • @lightguardjp In short, it's punishing you for not watching video the way they want you to. You have to pirate to catch up. #
  • Wireless and cable facing more complaints than ever. http://t.co/vbXpLmW #
  • Where's the smart grid? Out in the boonies, apparently. http://t.co/H5tyiGW #
  • Want to drop your network deployment costs? Avoid highway right-of-ways. http://t.co/FHVkkZ1 #
  • Provo owns the reality of paying for their network. http://t.co/TME31rQ #
  • Time Warner Cable figures out what we already knew: their primary business is broadband. http://t.co/4BQNPE2 #
  • AT&T: "Pay no attention to the market consolidation behind the curtain!" http://t.co/xRk8oHE #
  • The Deseret News pens a low-information editorial on iProvo. http://t.co/wpDKrQE #

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Broadband Bytes for 2011-08-13

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Does Windstream’s Acquisition of PAETEC Spell ILEC Wars?

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A week and a half ago, ILEC Windstream Communications announced that it would be acquiring business telecommunications company PAETEC, a current UTOPIA provider. As of yet, nothing has been said as to if that arrangement on the network will continue. As you may recall, AT&T had planned to join UTOPIA as the flagship provider until SBC purchased the company in 2005. That got called off because incumbent providers, both in the telco and cableco space, have a long-standing gentleman’s agreement to stay out of each other’s territories. While Verizon and AT&T fired a few shots in some Texas suburbs a few years ago, this arrangement has continued to stand for decades. The question now is if Windstream is willing to risk competition in its own backyard to keep access to UTOPIA.

I think the answer might be yes. Business telephone companies regularly both compete with and buy wholesale services from incumbent providers. Veracity, for instance, does this all the time. This would be a rare occurrence that a company is both, and I find it highly unlikely that CenturyLink would set up shop in Windstream’s backyard (mostly because they don’t have the money, but I digress). Even with what I assume are relatively few accounts on UTOPIA, Windstream may be ready to make the calculated decision to open up an ILEC-on-ILEC war right here in Utah. It may even expand to the residential market now that the merged company is no longer focused on business accounts.

The implications are huge. If Windstream pulls it off, Verizon and AT&T, both of whom are cash-rich, may decide to start picking off bits of CenturyLink’s business. Before long, incumbent territory won’t matter anymore. UTOPIA’s open access model would be ideally positioned to capitalize on the willingness to cross the anti-competitive artificial boundaries and provide quick market access.

Where iProvo is Going From Here

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Most of you are already aware that Veracity’s reserve fund for iProvo has reached the point of potentially triggering a default. From the news stories you’ve read, odds are good that you think that Broadweave 2.0 is about to come crashing down on the city. I’ve sat down with Veracity and Mayor Curtis to get the real deal story and I don’t think it’s the apocalyptic scenario that sells papers and glues eyeballs to evening newscasts.

First off, I’ll give you Veracity’s side of things. They went into the network expecting to spend about $2-3M on network upgrades. To date, they say they’ve dropped a good $8M on fixing things up. For that investment, the network can cover both operating expenses and debt service, but there is no money left over for installations, marketing, or network upgrades. Veracity could choose to cross-subsidize the network, but that eats into their budget for expansion. The current strategy has been to try and expand to other markets to leverage the video head end and spread out the cost of the NOC, primarily through building fiber to CenturyLink cabinets, co-locating, and selling services over a U-Verse-like ADSL2+ network. If they pumped more money into iProvo itself, it stunts these growth efforts. It’s a short-term gain for a long-term loss. Neither the city nor Veracity would win under the current scenario.

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Broadband Bytes for 2011-08-06

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Re-writing Reality: Utah Taxpayers Association Spins on iProvo

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It’s almost become too easy to pick on the Utah Taxpayers Association when they get a story so very, very wrong. The latest work of fiction is thacceir tortured stance on iProvo, one in which they perform twists of logic to support how things have unfolded with iProvo and yet continue to vilify what UTOPIA does. As usual, this requires a point-by-point breakdown of where they lack any kind of consistency and twist or invent facts to support their weak sauce arguments.

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