Image
Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
Spanish Fork Community Network Adds Telephone
By
on
In 1999, the city of Spanish Forks in Utah began building a $7.5 million publicly owned cable network to offer broadband and cable television services. Since then, the network has created some $2 million in community savings from the lower rates created by competition. In February of 2009, Spanish Fork Community Network received the "Business of the Month" award from the local Chamber of Commerce.
Last month, they announced that they will be adding telephone services to the network by contracting with a private provider that will actually offer the service.
When most people think of Utah and broadband networks, they think of UTOPIA, the open access network that has had a variety of problems. The Spanish Fork Network has been quick to note their successes (I suspect they are also frequently attacked by the incumbent-loving Utah Taxpayers Association group):
Bowcut gave his budget report and said SFCN had over $400 thousand in retained earnings. "We are not going under."He also added that they built the network at a time when private providers refused to invest in the community. Hat tip to FreeUTOPIA for noting these stories.
Geoterm
Related Stories
Documentary: The Municipal Broadband Wave and Monopoly Response
In January, we released our new census of municipal networks in the United States for 2024, and the significant growth that we've seen over the last two years as more and more cities commit to building Internet infrastructure to add new tools for their local government, incentivize new economic development, and improve connectivity for households. The trend has not gone unnoticed by the monopoly players and their allies, and a new short documentary by Light Reading does a great job of outlining the stakes for local governments, residents stuck on poor connections, and the incumbents as the wave of municipal networks grows.
UTOPIA Fiber Completes $23.5 Million Network Build in Syracuse, Utah
UTOPIA Fiber has completed its fourth major broadband deployment of 2023, with the finished construction of a $23.5 million citywide fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) build in Syracuse, Utah. The new fiber network passes 12,324 residential addresses, and has already reached a nearly 16% subscriber take rate in the city.
Colorado and Texas Municipal Broadband Networks Nab National Awards
The National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) recently announced that its Community Broadband Projects of the Year Awards for 2023 will go to the Connexion network in Fort Collins, Colorado and TeamPharr.net in Pharr, Texas. Fort Collins is also a part of a municipal-owned communications partnership known as Northern Colorado Community Fiber, which received the Fiber Broadband Association Star Award for going “above and beyond what is expected in the advancement of Fiber-to-the-Home.”
Municipal Broadband Opposition Campaign in Bountiful, Utah Fails
Bountiful, Utah officials and community broadband advocates are breathing a sigh of relief as the Utah Taxpayers Association’s “Gather Utah” petition to stop the city from building an open-access network in partnership with UTOPIA Fiber fell short. This past Friday was the deadline for “Gather Utah” to collect enough signatures for a petition that would have forced a citywide vote on the $43 million in revenue bonds authorized in May by city councilors to fund network construction.
Garden Spot of Utah Moves to Build Bountiful Fiber Network in Face of Dark Money Campaign
Bountiful, Utah officials have settled on a plan to bring Bountiful Fiber and affordable connectivity to its residents and businesses. By unanimous vote of the city council, the issuance of $48 million in bonds was recently authorized to fund construction of what will be a city-owned open access fiber network. A dark money campaign spearheaded by the Utah Taxpayers Association (UTA), however, is threatening to derail the project.
Nearly $1 Billion in Rescue Plan Funds Heads to Six States
The U.S. Treasury Department announced another six states have been approved to receive nearly $1 billion in Capital Projects Funds from the American Rescue Plan to bring new broadband infrastructure to more than 180,000 homes and businesses.