From Deseret News archives:
UTOPIA forging onward without Salt Lake
But not having largest Utah city fuels uncertainty
"We plan on going forward," said UTOPIA director Paul Morris. "It was a good project with Salt Lake City in, obviously they had good (customer) numbers, but having them out doesn't mean it kills the project."
Yet, having Utah's largest city as part of UTOPIA could have been a huge boost to realizing the network's success. Salt Lake City's absence not only means a much smaller network to work with, but it also leaves a geographic gap in which officials will have to join northern UTOPIA cities, such as Brigham City, Roy and Centerville, with their south-valley counterparts.
Opponents, such as Qwest's Utah president, Jerry Fenn, have called UTOPIA's projected rates more than optimistic.
With Salt Lake City out of the UTOPIA picture for now, Morris said there are several factors working against, and in favor, of UTOPIA. The cost of the network will slide from the estimated $540 million to about $400 million, Morris said. But along with lower costs comes a smaller customer base, which means UTOPIA cities may have to pay out more.
In the original business model, Morris said cities were asked to put up about 39 percent of the total cost for building the network in each respective city in sales tax. The sales tax revenue would be used to back bonds for the construction. If UTOPIA fails, however, cities could stand to loose millions in tax revenue. Although they have yet to calculate exactly how Salt Lake City's decision will impact UTOPIA's business plan, Morris said it is likely that participating cities will be asked to pay a larger tax backstop around 42 percent.
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