Will Provoans dot the 'i' in iProvo?

PROVO — Here's the 4-1-1 on Provo's latest efforts in a campaign to have a city-owned fiber-optic network.

Telemarketers have been targeting Provo households to determine interest in a city-run fiber-optic network that would provide high-speed Internet access, cable TV and on-demand movies.

"Are you willing to pay a one-time fee of $50 for a fiber-optic system?" asked one Dan Jones & Associates employee while conducting the City Council-approved survey last week.

The Salt Lake-based company was commissioned by Provo Power to contact 400 residents to gauge interest in iProvo — a proposed fiber-optic network that would service Provo's 32,000 homes at a cost of $39.5 million to the city.

"We've been doing research and study for the last five years," said Utah Power's Mary DeLaMare Schaefer, who has overseen the iProvo project. "And this is just another piece of that study."

According to Diane Meppen of Dan Jones & Associates, the 400th call was placed last night, bringing the weeklong survey project to a close. Meppen said the company will now focus on compiling the data into statistical information that Provo officials can use to determine iProvo's future.

"The survey is just to get data, not to influence someone one way or another," DeLaMare-Schaefer explained. "We're working hard to find out from every angle we can — from a technological perspective, from a customer perspective, from a financial perspective, from a construction perspective — what are all the issues and concerns."

According to DeLaMare-Schaefer, about 50 percent of the Provo public is familiar with the iProvo proposal — which is to "build a fiber-optic telecommunication system to lease to private companies so that residents and businesses can buy enhanced voice, video and data services."

While it sounds confusing, DeLaMare-Schaefer said that the plan is simple and provides exciting possibilities for Provo businesses and residents. City Council members, however, remain unsure about iProvo and asked for additional time at a Dec. 2 meeting before making a decision on whether to pursue financing for the project.

"This is something that has been carefully thought out," Provo Mayor Lewis Billings said at that meeting. "We believe that it will create jobs. We believe that it will create a quality of life that we never thought of before."