The Top Ten Hardest Lessons Learned From Utah Municipal Networks
It’s amazing that a rural state nestled in the heart of the Mountain West is where we’re seeing some of the biggest innovations in community broadband. And yet the woes of UTOPIA and iProvo, the latter of which was sold to a private company last year, seem to be what’s making the front page news. Despite a series of missteps, the future of open wholesale access looks bright… so long as we’re willing to learn some hard lessons. Here’s what I’ve learned from watching Utah’s municipal networks.
Broadband Bytes for 2009-05-16
- (@elforesto) Telecom incumbents have some ‘splaining to do. http://is.gd/AgKs #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) Old media unsurprisingly doesn’t understand the Internet. http://is.gd/AbgV #freeutopia #
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Broadband Bytes for 2009-05-15
- (@elforesto) Consolidated rural telcos may not have the funds to deploy real broadband. http://is.gd/A9Wz #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) Evidence of rural telco failure? Fairpoint got $50M from NH just to stay in business. http://is.gd/A9Yy #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) RT @XMission: City 2.0 http://bit.ly/PHaQr #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) Verizon-Frontier deal makes for easy pickings for Comcast. http://is.gd/AbgB #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) Feds could lay conduit under all federal highways to promote fiber deployment. http://is.gd/AdX2 #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) Customer can’t get his ISP to fix his account, so he hacks them and does it himself. http://is.gd/AeB2 #freeutopia #
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Broadband Bytes for 2009-05-14
- (@elforesto) AT&T may have shot down the SlingPlayer app for iPhone to promote their own app. http://is.gd/zOkM #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) Broadband growth jumps back up. http://is.gd/zOJs #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) Frontier could hit the same hard times as Fairpoint. http://is.gd/zQfQ #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) FCC opens public comments on nat’l broadband plan. http://is.gd/zTyy #freeutopia #
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Broadband Bytes for 2009-05-13
- (@elforesto) Should cable ditch the STB? (Hint: YES.) http://is.gd/zm8L #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) Rural telco consolidation binge continues as Frontier snags 4.8M lines from Verizon. http://is.gd/zw9g #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) FCC manipulated data on BPL to push the tech. http://tr.im/lfCk #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) FCC will cut the landline port window from 4 days to 24 hours. http://is.gd/zyaY #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) There’s 30 days until the DTV switch and 2.9% of the country still isn’t ready. http://is.gd/zAff #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) Uh-oh. Broadweave’s phone switch is reportedly owned by Traverse Mountain. Provo customers could lose phone service. #freeu … #
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Broadband Bytes for 2009-05-12
- (@elforesto) From the Blog: Broadweave could be booted from Traverse Mountain. http://is.gd/zbvR #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) Is Redbox killing DVD sales? And could they kill VOD? http://is.gd/zc1l #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) Charter sues DirecTV for exploiting their bankruptcy filing in their ads. http://is.gd/zdGo #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) FTC could bonk incumbent heads and shake up the duopoly. http://is.gd/zf4e #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) Broadband Shysters: http://is.gd/zgJy #freeutopia #
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Rumor: Broadweave to Be Booted From Traverse Mountain As Soon As This Week
A reliable source passed along a rumor that Broadweave’s troubles in Traverse Mountain are about to come to an end, but not in the way the company would like. Residents, after years of not getting video and being required to purchase phone service that many don’t use, are reportedly about to have the HOA sever the contract with Broadweave for data and voice services. Given the amount of griping I’ve seen on the Traverse Mountain Community forum, it’s not surprising to see this happen. I find it ironic that Broadweave cited high customer satisfaction in TM as a reason they were well-suited to operate iProvo.
Of particular interest is that the HOA is also rumored to be negotiating with several new service providers to replace Broadweave, including UTOPIA. If UTOPIA is being considered and ultimately wins the contract, residents would get immediate competition and triple-play services. (Side note: the administrator of the TM forum is apparently a UTOPIA employee who left iProvo.) It’s anyone’s guess as to if the rumor is true or not, but it makes sense given UTOPIA’s relationships with existing service providers and backbone proximity to the community.
Broadband Bytes for 2009-05-11
- (@elforesto) Baby monitors could be killing your WiFi. And maybe your wireless ISP. http://is.gd/yOIz #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) Will smartphone data demand drive carriers to dump unlimited use pricing? http://is.gd/yIKo #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) ISPs call bunk on Pew claim that rural customers don’t want broadband. http://is.gd/yOES #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) High-speed connections face lots of bottlenecks, including your router. http://is.gd/yPAK #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) Digital converter boxes can result in better picture quality on analog sets. http://is.gd/yTSB #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) Norwegian ISP lets you dig your own trench for fiber to save $400 on install costs. http://is.gd/yUVz #freeutopia #
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Broadband Bytes for 2009-05-09
- (@elforesto) Surviving the dumb pipe: jack up prices, sell luxury services, or sell your network. http://is.gd/xVeH #freeutopia #
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Broadband Bytes for 2009-05-08
- (@elforesto) Genachowski confirmation delayed as Republicans still search for their FCC commission nominee. http://is.gd/xNkL #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) Recession driving more folks to drop land lines and go wireless only. http://is.gd/xuuz #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) A phone industry bailout? Seriously? http://is.gd/xM7m #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) Simultaneous theatre, DVD, and VOD releases could be the future of movies. http://is.gd/xRGU #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) Are bandwidth caps a ploy to keep you from ditching cable TV? http://is.gd/x034 #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) Nielsen ratings system stuck in the 70s. http://is.gd/xS3T #freeutopia #
- (@elforesto) AT&T buying Alltel wireless remains from Verizon. http://is.gd/xSdT #freeutopia #
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