What is UTOPIA?

The Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency is a consortium of 17 Utah cities that want to build the most extensive fiber-optic telecommunications network in Utah.

Speed: 100 times faster than DSL

Makeup: Telephone, Internet, cable (one high-speed broadband connection)

Estimated cost: $540 million

Funding: Municipal bonds

Support: Pledge of tax dollars by each city over a 17-year period.

Although the system would be built by cities, the network would be open to private companies, who would lease network space to compete for services.