Todd Marriott Named New UTOPIA Executive Director

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As unveiled at the meeting in Payson, Todd Marriott was named as the new Executive Director of UTOPIA today. I had suspected it from the moment they introduced him at one of the earlier meetings and it's exciting to have someone with sales savvy and a passion for open networks take the helm to lead UTOPIA in a sorely-needed new direction. I can't find much about him online other than a stint with CityLink Networks in Fruit Heights, but he seems to really know his stuff. Here's to hoping things get back on track.

Payson Says No Again By 4-1 Vote

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Despite high hopes. Payson's City Council voted 4-1 against the new UTOPIA bonds citing concerns about their future revenue streams. Council Member Hancock cast the lone yes vote despite getting a second for the motion to adopt the resolution. This means that they will likely have to start paying out around $259K every year over the next 19 years to satisfy their portion of the old bonds.

I view this move as a calculated risk. Payson knew they were getting their network regardless of how they voted because it makes financial sense for UTOPIA. They also know that their pledge amount is small enough that it won't sink the deal. In short, they knew that opting to not pledge additional money would not mean they wouldn't see more of the network and decided to enjoy the benefit of UTOPIA without risking any more money. I think they also have a hope in their mind that UTOPIA may not call their bond pledge immediately or may opt not to do so at all if it can retire the old bond with the proceeds of the new bond. I hope that isn't their game because it's very unfair to other member cities. 

The iProvo Deal Worsens: Broadweave Also Plans to Buy Defunct OEN Network in Houston

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Talk about stretching yourself thin. Broadweave mentioned to the Daily Herald that they plan to buy a fiber optic network in Houston, Texas, likely the OEN network that went belly-up after less than a year of operations. They only manged to reach about 5,000 customers before abruptly halting service, falling far short of their goal to wire 1.6M homes. Despite the large investments from venture capitalists, I doubt Broadweave has the money to continue construction in Houston, do further roll-outs in Provo and continue to build their network in Traverse Mountain.

Wake up, Provo. This company isn't going to be around more than a couple of years and you'll still be left holding the bag.

EDIT: Almost forgot to mention that Broadweave also plans to upgrade the TV signals on iProvo from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4. This will require replacing the existing set-top boxes to support the new signals. At around $300 a pop, it would take nearly $1.8M to upgrade the existing video customers on iProvo. Yet another hunk of cash I doubt they have.

Meetings on iProvo: Make Your Voice Heard!

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There's going to be a large number of meetings on iProvo popping up over the next two weeks for you to ask questions and voice your concerns. Here's the schedule:

  • Monday May 12 from 4-6PM: Open house at the iProvo Network Operations Center, 744 N. 300 West. Rumor has it representatives from Broadweave will also be there.
  • Tuesday May 13 at 7AM: iProvo Review Committee Meeting, 351 W. Center St. They didn't allow public comment last time and may not feel a need to do so this time either, but they are highly informative.
  • Tuesday May 13 at 5:30PM: Municipal Council Study Session on iProvo, 351 W. Center St. This meeting will likely accept public comment.
  • Tuesday May 20 at 7PM: Municipal Council Meeting, 351 W. Center St. The council will likely take a vote on the impending sale to Broadweave.

I'll try to make as many of these meetings as I can to make sure the opposition is heard. Make sure you get friends and neighbors to show up to these and contact members of the council and the mayor to voice your opinion.

Off Again, On Again: Payson to Reconsider Vote on New UTOPIA Bonds

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After more waffles than you'd see in an Eggo plant, Payson has decided that they need to rethink their vote on the new UTOPIA bonds after being the lone hold-out. The city council will meet Monday May 12 at 6PM to reconsider backing the new UTOPIA bonds, a move that's eerily reminiscent of their "no we aren't, yes we are" vote on joining in the first place. The meeting will be held at 439 W. Utah Ave. and it's unknown if additional public comment will be heard. For good measure, supporters in the area should do their best to show up anyway.

I 'll be there, though it's going to be back-to-back with the iProvo open house the same night so I could be a few minutes late.

h/t: Jens Dana from the DMN. Had he not said anything to me on the phone tonight, I might not have heard about it until I was on my way to Zion Nat'l Park for a well-deserved vacation.

iProvo "Sale" Will Be Another HomeNet Fiasco

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As more details about Provo's pending sale of iProvo to Broadweave surface, it becomes more and more obvious that this is a bum deal for the city.

Broadweave isn't exactly buying the network. Instead, they are assuming the bond payments from the city. The original bond, however, will remain with the city. This means that Provo can only make the bond payments if Broadweave makes their payments to the city. If Broadweave goes under, the city is still on the hook.

So how financially viable is Broadweave? Rumor has it they aren't turning a profit on their existing infrastructure in Lehi and St. George, something that should be grave cause for concern. We should also be worried that they are attempting to take over a network many times the size of what they currently manage. Time and time again, a smaller operation taking over a larger one ends up being a disaster since they can't cope with such rapid growth.

We may also see a large loss of customers. As the contracts with MSTAR and Veracity expire, those customers will be forced to switch to Broadweave, a company that has data speeds of 10Mbps/1Mbps instead of iProvo's current 15Mbps/15Mbps. Such a drop in speed with what is presumably a equal or higher price will cause massive attrition back to incumbent carriers who offer the same pricing and service levels. And Nuvont customers? Expect to get an immediate boot since that company doesn't have a contract in place.

What we're looking at is a move back to what iProvo was like under HomeNet: one retailer to rule the network that hasn't figured out how to make money either. While the mayor, municipal council and UTA are drunk on the euphoria of washing their hands of iProvo, this is nothing more than punting the responsibility to another party and setting themselves up for massive failure in a couple of years. Shame on them all for managing this city asset in such an irresponsible manner, "selling" it for much less than it cost to build and refusing to do the grunt work necessary to make it succeed. I hope the good citizens of Provo will remember this betrayal at the ballot box in 2009.

Read more from the Tribune, Deseret News and Daily Herald.

iProvo to Be Sold

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Looks like iProvo is going on the chopping block with a flurry of questions as to if it will even happen. Broadweave Networks of South Jordan has been announced as the buyer and will assume all wholesale and retail operations for $40.6M and they will assume the bond debt from the network. This means that MSTAR and Veracity are going to be cut out of the picture and Provo will have yet another vertically-integrated monopoly, one that apparently can't even deliver speeds close to iProvo's current speeds over its own network in Lehi.

Most disturbing is the lack of an open and transparent RFP process, something that makes the whole deal reek of a back-room deal. Mayor Billings just two weeks ago said a sale would be premature, then he pulls out this deal that was obviously in the works for some time. According to the Deseret News, the city had RFPs to buy the network from April of 2007 yet there was little-to-no public discussion about it. There's also the question as to if Provo can sell off the fiber rings that were paid for largely by federal grants as part of an air quality project to monitor traffic flows. While the city will still be able to use the network for municipal functions, eliminating the competitive marketplace for retailers is anathema to one of the original purposes of the network.

I'm left wondering if Veracity, Nuvont and MSTAR can survive having thousands of customers pulled out from underneath them like this and if this means that all three will no longer be viable options for UTOPIA. An implosion of all but XMission could have serious repercussions if new providers are not added soon, especially since CCG doubted that either company could escape bankruptcy for long.

I'm very disappointed in Mayor Billings and his lack of vision. I hope voters won't forget having the rug pulled out from under them like this.

PacketFront Seeking UTOPIA Supporters

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PacketFront is looking for UTOPIA supporters both in member and non-member cities to organize some peer-to-peer marketing efforts and spread information about UTOPIA via word-of-mouth. Please e-mail Chris Hogan, VP of Marketing at PacketFront, at Chris.Hogan@packetfront.com if you're willing to help spread the network in member cities and get your city to join. I already know of a few small groups in Sandy, West Jordan, Taylorsville and Salt Lake City who are eager to join and the word on the street is that Cedar City has considered switching to pledging status sometime soon to speed construction.

Given the well-funded opposition to UTOPIA from Qwest, Comcast and the Utah Taxpayers Association, it's absolutely critical that we show up in force at future city council meetings and do everything we can to raise awareness and get others to sign up for service. Ten of the eleven pledging cities have decided to "double down" and give UTOPIA a second chance; it's up to us to help prove that this increased risk wasn't for nothing.

BREAKING: Murray Approves New UTOPIA Bonds 4-1

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Less than an hour ago, Murray's City Council approved the new UTOPIA bonds by a vote of 4-1 with Council Member Pat Griffiths casting the lone dissenting vote. This paves the way for the new bonds to be in place by June 1. Rumor has it that Payson will be making a last-minute vote to reconsider now that all of the other cities have approved the new bonds.

Now that all of the votes are over and done with, I'll be taking some time next week to go over my notes from all of the meetings and try and give a more complete picture of where the network is at and where it is going. That might not be entirely necessary as the rumor mill says that UTOPIA will be re-launching their website by June 1 and will update it frequently. 

From the "Told You So" Department: Qwest Trying to Ditch Line-Sharing

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Just like I told city councils on Monday and Tuesday of this week, Qwest is trying to weasel its way out of sharing lines with competitors for phone and DSL services. According to a report from competitor XO Communications, this could mean that the average household bill will rise by as much as $115 per year or nearly $10 per month. Verizon did the same thing when it filed a "forbearance" request with the FCC so that they didn't have to share their lines. Given the FCC's Ma Bell-friendly attitude these past few years, Qwest is likely to get what it wants.

Currently, Qwest has forbearance in effect in Omaha, Nebraska and wholesale rates rose steeply, forcing many competitors to pass that along to consumers. While the current request isn't targeting Utah (Phoenix, Denver, Minneapolis and Seattle are the "lucky" areas), you can bet that UTOPIA is about the only thing holding them back. Hang on to your wallets, Utah; Qwest's CEO needs a new pair of Rolls.