Finally, Provo's telecommunications board continues to look forward to the addition of new products that could be offered over the iProvo network and contribute new revenue streams.

Meanwhile, iProvo technicians reported to the board that the network's stability has improved. Customers had reported numerous problems with MStar and Veracity in 2005 and 2006, but complaints are dropping.

"Our reliability is pretty outstanding," iProvo network manager Jeff Wilson said. "The things we're chasing these days are smaller and don't impact customers much."

Mayor Lewis Billings has asked Wilson to find a way to monitor iProvo telephone services so the city can know before a customer if an outage occurs and fix it.

Despite decreasing complaints, the city is re-emphasizing its iCare customer service program, offering a $5 Hogi Yogi gift certificate to callers who experience trouble. Customers first should call their service provider. If a problem persists, they can call the iCare team at 852-6873.

The iProvo network can carry Internet data at 100 megabits per second, and Billings has said service providers someday will provide that speed. Wilson said the network's capacity can be expanded.

MStar is delivering 15 Mbps per second and Veracity 10 Mbps on iProvo, both for downloads and uploads. Garlick said Veracity is in discussing ramping up to 15 Mbps.

Qwest offers 7 Mbps downloads, with uploads at 896 kilobits per second, company spokesman Gary Younger said.

Comcast offers Internet download speeds up to 8 Mbps with a built-in "power boost" to 12 Mbps when a customer is downloading a big file. Comcast's highest upload speed is 768 kbps, spokesman Ray Child said.

Comcast's CEO unveiled a new technology in May called channel bonding that can deliver 150 Mbps over a cable modem. He said that technology could be available within a couple of years.

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com