"Our target for the year, set in March, is 60 new (subscriber) installations a week," Garlick said. "We're over 60 per week so far for the year."

That should get iProvo to 10,000 subscribers by June 30, Garlick said. However, he recently told the City Council that initial projections putting iProvo at break-even with 10,000 subscribers need to be adjusted because fewer subscribers are signing up for two or three services. Now Garlick says break-even will come between 12,000 and 15,000 subscribers.

The study harshly criticizes Provo's selection of HomeNet as its first service provider, calling the decision a "disaster."

Garlick essentially agreed, though he defended the choice as well-researched but sabotaged by HomeNet's performance. He said the Reason report's narrative about HomeNet is in error when it states the city asked HomeNet to leave. HomeNet asked out of its contract and soon filed for bankruptcy.

"We wouldn't be honest if we didn't say the major setback of the project was the decision to use HomeNet," Garlick said. Billings and Garlick said they need more time to thoroughly review the Reason report but expect to issue a rebuttal in the future. Billings said the rebuttal would be sent to residents.

Garlick said the report was created to discourage other cities from being "adventurous."

"This is trying to build a case to use in a public setting that cities are not performing well," he said.

Titch said the Reason Foundation does have an agenda of encouraging governments to stay out of free markets, but he said the study was not commissioned by any group and that he was not asked to look at Provo. He indicated the scrutiny was prompted by Provo's national status as a city to watch.

The organization's vice-president of research, Adrian Moore, confirmed that Comcast and Qwest have not contributed to the think tank. Moore said AT&T has given money to Reason in recent years but wasn't interested in the study. AT&T is not a player in the Provo market.

Reason is a not-for-profit think tank founded in 1968. It clearly states at the front of the iProvo report that it supports libertarian principles of individual liberty and free markets. In the form it filed with the IRS in 2004 to maintain its tax-exempt status, it explained that revenue from Reason Magazine "enables the Reason Foundation to foster a greater understanding among the general public of the application of reason and logic."

The complete study is available online at www.reason.org/ps353.pdf.

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com