Spanish Fork recognized for its tech savvy

SPANISH FORK — Move over Moab. Another Utah city is hobnobbing with the world's elite.

While Spanish Fork may not be sharing bumper sticker and T-shirt space with the likes of Paris and New York, it is getting attention for its tech savvy along with London, Melbourne and Taipei.

The Utah County city is again among the world's "Smart 21 Communities," chosen by the Intelligent Community Forum, an international organization that promotes the use of broadband technology in community development.

It's Spanish Fork's second year on the list, due largely to its citywide fiber-optic system, which has become a key in promoting the city's residential and economic development.

"We went from 0 percent high-speed Internet access in Spanish Fork to 42 percent access in a relatively short period of time," said John Bowcut, information systems director for the city.

"That is a significant improvement to the community, and 100 percent of residents now have access to it if they want," he continued. "I think (the ICF) liked that improvement."

The ICF looks at five factors in compiling its list — the availability of broadband communications, the network's role in educating the workforce, the use of broadband to promote community involvement, governmental innovation through the network and successful marketing of the system.

Spanish Fork has done well in all those categories — the network is available at all of its schools and some churches for educational purposes. A successful marketing campaign has resulted in subscriptions for almost half the city.

While the city's television station cannot boast a network affiliation, local residents can tune in for an hour or two of tense (OK, mostly boring) City Council sessions or some 14 to 16 hours per week of other community programming.

It is "unique" for a city of Spanish Fork's size, Bowcut said.

"We use that as a means of keeping our residents involved, because we want to keep that small-town feel," he said. "There are cities, of course, that have their own broadband system, but (ICF) is looking at the fact that we not only created a system but we created a community network."

The city system includes a few bells and whistles not found elsewhere, including free wireless access in city parks.

The system — despite being "close-captured" inside the city's boundaries — has played a major role in Spanish Fork's development in recent years, city councilman Seth Sorensen said.

"It's been tremendously important," he said. "We're just now starting to see its impact on economic development. As businesses have come into the city and considered moving here, they've responded very well to this."