![]() ![]() "We expect that and demand that as citizens. "Inter local agreements between cities constitute government entities, and those entities need to be subject to accountability and transparency laws," Webb wrote in an e-mail to a Utah resident, which was shared with Ars. Webb indicated that cities can become non-pledging members of UTOPIA and meet the requirements of his bill. Non-pledging member cities don't have to cover bond payments, but they aren't promised fiber build-outs until construction in the pledging cities is done. ![]() Not all UTOPIA member cities are pledging members, however. The group has struggled financially, with a legislative audit in 2012 finding that it "spent nearly all of its $185 million in bond proceeds, though only 59 percent of that has gone toward building infrastructure for the municipal fiber-optics network," according to the Deseret News.Ĭonstruction has taken years longer than expected, and until it breaks even, "member cities collectively must continue to make annual payments of nearly $13 million for debt service on the bonds," said the Deseret News article, published in August 2012. There may be good reason for cities to be reluctant to join UTOPIA. He said it's difficult to get city governments to join officially. "We have fiber connections just about everywhere," Crane told Ars. Government agencies and businesses in Salt Lake City and other municipalities are getting Internet service from UTOPIA fiber, despite those cities not being members of UTOPIA. "Because our network is open, the incumbent telecoms are welcome to join our network, but have elected not to," UTOPIA says. ISPs offering service over UTOPIA fiber include, Fibernet, InfoWest, SumoFiber, Veracity, XMission. UTOPIA itself is an open access network upon which any private company can offer Internet access. Residents don't get service from UTOPIA directly-they get it from private Internet service providers just as they would from Comcast or CenturyLink. That's true as far as it goes, but it actually isn't very different from the usual model. Their own non-member city could say, 'we are not UTOPIA.' If they turned to UTOPIA for help, those member cities could say, 'You are not our constituent.'" Advertisement Webb told Ars that his bill "is not designed to damage UTOPIA in any way, but rather to provide clarity and accountability to citizens who may be involved in that expansion." Accountability is needed because if UTOPIA service in a non-member city went wrong, "who would the citizens in that area turn to? That user is not a citizen of the providing entity. UTOPIA Legislative Policy Director Gary Crane had argued that the bill would do nothing except "damage or punish the UTOPIA cities."Īs we wrote previously, "UTOPIA has partnered with one business 'to create a fiber ring around Salt Lake City, and that partnership provided that others could connect onto that system to defray costs.' Future connections that require a new contract could be barred. Crane said UTOPIA is also worried the bill could disrupt negotiations with investment firm Macquarie Capital, which are aimed at finishing construction of the fiber network." The bill requires that any city into which UTOPIA expands become a member city." UTOPIA is a government entity created by an interlocal agreement, and the public asks for and deserves transparency and accountability of them. In fact, it addresses no other entity than UTOPIA. While "much of the misunderstanding has been cleared up, you may see a few minor adjustments to provide that clarification," he said. "The bill does not prohibit infrastructure expansion. Webb said he's met with lobbyists and people in the industry over the past few days. and bill author Curt Webb told Ars in an e-mailed response to our questions. Further Reading Utah bill would stop regional fiber networks from expanding"Somehow the bill has gotten mischaracterized in the public eye," Utah Rep. ![]()
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