Beehive: We’re gonna rock fiber into The Avenues (and maybe take it further)

Beehive Broadband logoBeehive Broadband has big broadband dreams. After rolling fiber in their native service areas in Tooele County (even into the spec of nothingness that is Grouse Creek) and hitting downtown SLC with fiber rings, they’re now making a push to bring gigabit fiber into The Avenues neighborhood of Salt Lake City. Pricing is targeted around $40-50/mo for 100Mbps and $70 or so for gigabit with an install fee in the $100-200 range. They’ll also be offering up phone and TV service for those so inclined.

The strategy is simple: build fiber to commercial buildings, then target neighborhoods nearby to bring it to the home. If this sounds familiar, it’s because CenturyLink said they would do the same thing, yet they seem to be very slow to follow up on it. Beehive is also evaluating using this plan in many other cities including Draper, Herriman, Holladay, Riverton, and Lehi. Right now, they’re looking primarily at areas that are being ignored by Comcast and CenturyLink.

So what about Google Fiber’s entry into SLC? Beehive is taking a “first to market” approach and plans to start hooking people up as early as mid-January, well before Google will turn over a single shovel of dirt. They’re also planning to make service available to all addresses in the footprint, something Google hasn’t done once their initial “fiberhood” signup period closes outside of a few exceptions in Provo. My take is that this is going to be a more successful strategy that could stymie Google’s efforts to break into that neighborhood.

If you get signed up on this service, let us know in the comments how it works out.

Why is it so hard to get TV on UTOPIA? There’s no money in it

Sourced from Wikipedia

Sourced from Wikipedia

Earlier this week, I sat down with UTOPIA to discuss the Macquarie deal and their general operations. One great part of these sit-downs is that I can get candid answers to some of your common questions. Some of you have asked more than a few times about TV service. Right now, only Beehive Broadband and Brigham.net sell video service to new customers using UTOPIA’s headend and Veracity is using their own. Most providers sell satellite packages to plug the gap. Why? Because video doesn’t make money.

Yes, it’s true. Video is a break-even product at best. Look at the numbers from any cable provider and you’ll see the same story: video and voice make data customers more “sticky”, but it’s the broadband that pays the bills. They’ve quickly become commodity products that help the revenue side but don’t do much on the profit side. The consensus at FTTH conferences is that video isn’t something that most of them want to do.

So what does this mean for you? Right now, you’ll have to fall back on satellite TV or pick one of the providers that does video service. Since Brigham.net is sticking to Brigham City, that means Beehive or Veracity. This doesn’t mean that all hope is lost, though. UTOPIA has been talking to its video partners about an over-the-top live TV service to plug the gap. It would be sold Netflix-style, but it would have all of your favorite TV channels and possibly some good on-demand stuff too. It’s a ways out (I’d guess years), but it’s where we’re all headed anyway.

UTOPIA Goes for Cheap Gigabit

Remember the rumblings about UTOPIA’s upcoming announcement last week? Well, it’s here, and its’ huge. Starting today, seven providers will be offering gigabit service for as low as $64.95/mo. If you’ve already paid off the connection fee, this makes it the same or less than Google Fiber in Provo on six of them. Here’s the full price list:

Of note is that UTOPIA has added another provider, WebWave. They’ve been using UTOPIA for backhaul to wireless towers in Davis County since May and are now going to be a full-fledged ISP on the network. With nine total providers to choose from, UTOPIA’s offering more competition for your business than ever.

If you’re content on the lower-priced tiers, SumoFiber and XMission have already switched all customers to 100Mbps. Are you planning to pony up a little more for 10x the speed? I know I would.