2 Davis cities join UTOPIA

CENTERVILLE — By early 2008, residents and businesses in Centerville are expected to be able to subscribe to voice and data service that runs over a 94-mile fiber-optics network.

That network, built by the Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency, or UTOPIA, is going into the ground in Centerville and more than a dozen other Utah cities. It is expected to be completed in the smaller cities this year.

The agency functions somewhat like an airport, which is built by a city or cities. Airlines get to use that airport and don't have to incur the cost of building an airport of their own.

Similarly, if cities get together to build a fiber-optics network, the various carriers can operate on that network, and if everything goes right, customers can pay less and get more.

Construction in Centerville began Aug. 6 and is already under way in Layton.

So far, Centerville and Layton are the only Davis cities who have joined UTOPIA.

"We are excited that our wait is finally over, and now our residents and businesses will soon be able to jump onto this high-speed network," Centerville City Council member Paul Cutler said in a news release. "The opportunities for businesses and the quality of life for our residents will dramatically increase as all the offerings of the UTOPIA network become available."

The Farmington City Council will hold a public hearing during its Sept. 4 council meeting to get input from residents whether the city should join as a nonpledging member.

That means that the city wouldn't need to provide any financial backing or loan guarantees to the agency, like pledging members do, said Roger Black, a consultant for UTOPIA.

Black said upcoming developments in Farmington could make the city an ideal candidate for fiber optics, because if a developer has to put telecommunications in the ground, he might as well use fiber instead of copper wire.

A recent feasibility study in Cottonwood Heights indicated membership in UTOPIA would be a good thing, said deputy city manager Kevin Smith. The City Council is weighing whether it wants to provide financial backing for bonds needed to build the network, Smith said.

The town of Vineyard, in Utah County, discussed the matter Wednesday and is expected to decide whether to join during its Sept. 12 meeting.

Black said dozens of other cities are looking into the feasibility of joining, as well.

By the end of this year Murray will be 65 percent covered, and Midvale will be 55 percent covered, followed by Orem, at 40 percent, and West Valley City and Layton, at 25 percent.