Archive for January, 2008
Wednesday, January 16th, 2008
Announcing the New FreeUTOPIA Wiki
Part of the biggest problem with UTOPIA advocacy is a lack of coordinating basic information. To that end, I've setup a new wiki to track information about UTOPIA including the positions of legislators, which cities are considering service and, for the 2008 election cycle, where candidates stand on municipal broadband and other telecommunications issues.
Anyone [...]
3 Comments » - Posted in Website by Jesse
Monday, January 14th, 2008
The Clipper’s Fair Coverage
After the train wreck of sloppy reporting from The Tribune, it's nice to see a news article that, you know, gets the story right. The Clipper has rightfully pointed out that cities always were prepared for the worst-case scenario, paying for the bonds with tax money, and that nobody has been expecting a slam-dunk free [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Cheers, News by Jesse
Monday, January 14th, 2008
Did UTOPIA Dodge a Legislative Bullet?
Survey says: most likely. I've been watching the bills that have been filed by Rep. Frank and Sen. Stephenson, co-chairs of the Government Competition and Privatization Subcommittee, and it appears that no amendments to the Municipal Cable Television and Public Telecommunications Act have been given bill numbers. For all intents and purposes, it's dead, Jim.
This [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Legislation by Jesse
Sunday, January 6th, 2008
Setting the Record Straight: XMission Corrects the Tribune
Warren Woodward, director of broadband services at XMission, got an opinion piece published in the Tribune that helps set the record straight on their one-sided article and op-ed lambasting UTOPIA. Take some time to go check it out.
2 Comments » - Posted in Cheers, News by Jesse
Sunday, January 6th, 2008
More FUD: The Tribune Attacks Spanish Fork’s Network
In what seems to be part of a continuing series, the Salt Lake Tribune has decided to go tilting at windmills once more by attempting to re-classify Spanish Fork's profitable network as a train wreck with tons of hidden subsidies and shoddy accounting. Apparently the Tribune is so focused on that predetermined conclusion that [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Jeers, News by Jesse
Sunday, January 6th, 2008
Past Due: Have Veracity and MSTAR Not Paid Their iProvo Bills?
It looks like another storm is brewing for iProvo and finances are the question once again. This time the anger is being vented at the providers on the network, Veracity/Nuvont and MSTAR, who are allegedly behind by almost $1M on their bills to the city. The state auditor is acting on an anonymous tip and [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Jeers, News by Jesse
Sunday, January 6th, 2008
UTOPIA Supporters to Meet in Sandy
I was recently contacted by someone from Sandy who's planning on getting a group of friends and neighbors together to have Sandy to reconsider UTOPIA membership. They'll be taking advantage of the public comments period at the City Council meeting on Tuesday January 8 at 7PM. If you're interested in meeting other UTOPIA supporters and [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Events by Jesse
Thursday, January 3rd, 2008
Out of the Woods? Vonage Settles All Outstanding Patent Lawsuits
After getting sued by all of the major telecommunications providers in rapid succession, Vonage might finally be over and doe with patent issues. They've recently settled a suit from Nortel Networks for a cross-licensing agreement instead of cash, a boon considering the big bucks they've had to shell out to companies like AT&T. [...]
No Comments » - Posted in News by Jesse
Thursday, January 3rd, 2008
The Internet Crunch: Copper Lacks Capacity for Next-Generation Networks
If you don't currently read Robert X. Cringely's column on PBS.com, you had better rectify that ASAP. A few weeks ago, he wrote on the coming crunch that's going to cripple cable networks unless they make some big changes. The in-depth analysis gives you a good feel for how close to the brink Big [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Essays by Jesse
Tuesday, January 1st, 2008
The Salt Lake Tribune Gets It All Wrong
It's one thing to see an organization with an agenda produce a slanted and worthless article. It's an entirely different thing to see a major newspaper do the same thing. As trusted gatekeepers of information, we expect journalists to aspire to higher standards to report the whole story from an objective viewpoint. Sadly, it appears [...]
