Deputy director Roger Black said all UTOPIA cities must take some form of action by June 25. Taking no action, according to the law, will mean that city will be excluded from UTOPIA membership and their interlocal agreement will be nullified. "Doing nothing is the same as withdrawing," Black told board members.

UTOPIA, like any newborn, will take small steps at the beginning, officials said. The first phase of the all-fiber-optic network will be built with the first $25 million, accommodating roughly 2,000 to 3,000 customers. Black said the first part of the network, although a location has not been announced, will be a test to determine if the network will function and to deal with technical issues. Once the $25 million network is established, a $65 million network will be built in another UTOPIA city by December of this year, designed to handle approximately 50,000 customers. At that point, Morris said the network should be financially self-sustaining.

After that, Morris said UTOPIA will then evaluate if the network will be expanded to full capacity. No dates have been set for full network expansion.

There are risks, however. If UTOPIA fails to get enough customers, or if it simply falls flat, cities stand to lose millions in tax dollars to back up financial losses.

Responding to some critics who say UTOPIA is making covert decisions, Morris said UTOPIA will be posting all of its business contracts on its Web site within a week or so, available to the public.

The UTOPIA project, as it is currently planned, will be a municipally backed high-speed data network in which private service providers will lease network space to compete for business. The network promises to offer telephone, Internet and television service in one single connection at speeds several times faster than current residential data services.

Black said the UTOPIA project has caught some worldwide attention.

Recently an invitation was sent to UTOPIA to join an elite group known as the Smart Communities International Network. The group, which was founded by the Dutch government, includes cities across the world that have helped to built high-speed data networks. Current members include cities from the Netherlands, Sweden and Malaysia. Invitations have been offered to cities in the United Arab Emirates, France and Utah, representing North America.

Black said membership would mean sharing technology and business deals between private providers, but membership is not cheap. Dues for the Smart Communities International Network come in at $22,000.

Board members said it is too early for UTOPIA to join, but once the network is built, they may consider it.

The first step: UTOPIA will take out bond funding for $25 million of the total $340 million project. The $25 million will be used to build the first part of the network in a yet-to-be-determined city. The network, which will service up to 3,000 first-ever customers, will also be used as a testing ground to work out technological issues and operations management.

The next step: Once the $25 million mini-network is established, UTOPIA will take out bonding for $65 million to build a larger network in a different location to serve 50,000 customers. If successful, UTOPIA officials will then begin planning to build the rest of the network, which will be offered to more than 300,000 people in 11 cities.

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