Jay Cobb, legal counsel for Broadweave, balked at the notion the company received special treatment, saying the city followed its due diligence with it as well as the other entities that made bids.

"Whoever they were talking with, they kept it secret," he said.

Broadweave executives fielded some other hardball questions from local residents. Jesse Harris, a software implementer, asked Christensen about Broadweave's efforts to buy OEN — another fiber network, in Houston, saying he thinks Broadweave is spreading itself too thin.

Christensen said he couldn't comment specifically on that situation. "We're under a (nondisclosure agreement)," he said.

But Christensen did ask residents to give Broadweave the benefit of the doubt and wait for the dust to settle.

"The only time we venture into a new market is when it's financially compelling," he said.

Residents also asked what would become of current service providers MStar and Veracity, as well as what new services and package deals they could expect from Broadweave.

A letter from iProvo consultant Doug Dawson, of CCG Consulting, appeared to offer insight on what will happen to the service providers, stating "(Broadweave) wants to be the sole provider on the network." Harris said such a move would contradict the initial purpose of iProvo to provide competition among service providers.

But Christensen brushed aside the statement, saying he's never spoken with Dawson.

"He's just assuming," he said.

Christensen did say Broadweave intends to announce its plans for service providers on Thursday.

"Stay tuned," he said repeatedly when questions rose about service providers and new services. "You don't have many days left to find out."

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E-mail: jdana@desnews.com