Archive for December, 2007
Wednesday, December 26th, 2007
Consumers Unprepared for the Analog Switch; Which Switch? Both of Them!
As the nation prepares to ditch analog signals for digital nirvana, a lot of consumers are being left in the lurch. Most of you readers know about the upcoming switch to digital TV signals, but does your dear Aunt Sally? According to a recent survey, probably not. Less than half of those asked knew about [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Jeers, News by Jesse
Wednesday, December 19th, 2007
Delays in RUS Money Stall UTOPIA in Centerville
Thanks to some foot-dragging by Uncle Sam, UTOPIA construction in Centerville has been put on hold until the Phase II funding comes through. This isn't the first time either; Phase I cities experienced some months-long delays while the loan application was being processed. The delays now are related to releasing the funds, currently six [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Jeers, News by Jesse
Saturday, December 15th, 2007
It’s Comcastic! Cable Operator In Dire Straits
It's a bad time to be Comcast. They dropped 7% in the American Consumer Satisfaction Index. They banished public access channels to expensive and less visible digital tiers. Rumors are flying that the Comcast Hammer Lady got dropped off the air while she was on Good Morning America. Then they get caught trying to [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in News by Jesse
Friday, December 14th, 2007
FCC War on Cable: Martin Moves to Cap Comcast, Congress and Comcast Fight Back
Undaunted in his previous attempts at curbing the growth of cable operators (arguably to the benefit of incumbent telcos), FCC Chairman Kevin Martin managed to get the commission to pass a rule to prevent cable operators from growing past 30% of the available national subscribers. The 70/70 rule used to restrict them comes from [...]
No Comments » - Posted in News by Jesse
Friday, December 14th, 2007
Open Network Mania: Verizon Does a 180, AT&T Rides the Coattails
Remember Verizon's lawsuit just a few months ago trying to get rid of the open access requirements in the 700MHz auction? Neither does Verizon, apparently. The company decided to allow anyone to bring any compatible device of their choosing to the network. The timeline? It'll be done by the end of 2008, about the [...]
No Comments » - Posted in News by Jesse
Friday, December 14th, 2007
Steven Titch’s Latest Hackjob
As predictable as the sun rising in the east and continued strife in the Middle East, Steven Titch is at it again. As usual, he's spouting out about iProvo without a clue as to what he's talking about. Not only was he not present at the meeting referenced in the newspaper articles he linked, but [...]
8 Comments » - Posted in Jeers by Jesse
Monday, December 10th, 2007
iProvo: Does Councilman George Stewart Have a Conflict of Interest?
It's no secret that Provo City Councilman George Stewart has been a rather outspoken opponent of iProvo. The former mayor has given Mayor Lewis Billings one heck of a fight over the system and it's financing by the city. However, an anonymous commenter on a recent story at the Deseret Morning News gives his tenacity [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Jeers, News by Jesse
Friday, December 7th, 2007
UTOPIA in the Bloghive: UTA Calls Foul on Financials, Rep. Frank Draws Parallels to iProvo, Pleas to Come to Orem Condos
Here's some more recent blog posts about UTOPIA. Some of these have aged a bit, but they're still worth reading and responding to.
The Utah Taxpayer's Association brings up UTOPIA's financial data and proceeds to trump up a bunch of half-truths. It's no secret that the UTA hates on municipal broadband, but excluding important parts [...]
6 Comments » - Posted in News by Jesse
Thursday, December 6th, 2007
Report: iProvo Strategic Summit, December 3 2007
The event on Monday turned out to be a public meeting to discuss where iProvo is going and what it plans to do to shore up operations. The scuttlebutt (that every single paper missed) is that Mayor Billings setup the meeting to try and sway the city council in general and Councilman George Stewart in [...]
4 Comments » - Posted in Events by Jesse
Saturday, December 1st, 2007
Telecom Summit in Provo on Monday December 3
Details are sketchy, but I've been made aware that there's some kind of telecom summit this Monday where iProvo will be one of the items discussed. It's going to be from 3PM to 6PM at the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo. I understand that Provo City Councilman George Stewart will be in attendance. [...]