Reader comments
IProvo called a financial drain

lezoave | 1:46 a.m. March 14, 2008

I have iProvo and aside from the months it took to install it, I've had no problems since then.

Utah Republican | 5:43 a.m. March 14, 2008

Provo needs to drop the private sector providers and provide the service themselves, but this may require a statutory change.

There's no reason why the private sector needs to be involved in this. Private sector means private profits. We'd be better off letting our Utah local governments run these programs at a loss than letting capitalist investors make a profit.

government is the answer? | 8:11 a.m. March 14, 2008

Look...The real issue is that the companies that Provo has partnered with are home grown companies who are still trying to figure out what to do and how to be a real company.

What Provo NEEDS to do is recruit REAL companies to come in and provide over this network. Companies that can actually compete head to head with Comcast. I'm talking about Cox Cable, Dish Network, DirecTV. All they need to do is drop a line of their programming into iProvo and they could distribute it to the 33,000 households in Provo. Once they have this presence, UTOPIA would offer the same service through their network.

It's a no-brainer! We need better competition because MSTAR and NUVONT aren't cutting it.

The honeymoon with iProvo is obviously over. Comcast just raised my cable rate. They were giving me a discount because iProvo was in my area and they needed to be competitive. Well, no longer! Comcast smells the blood in the water and aren't willing to give discounts because of iProvo anymore.

Provo!... PLEASE GET SOME REAL COMPANIES TO PROVIDE OVER THIS AWESOME NETWORK! THE CURRENT COMPANIES CAN'T AND HAVEN'T GOTTEN THE JOB DONE!

Comments continue below

nottyou | 8:20 a.m. March 14, 2008

Hey Utah Republican: Are you a Socialist or something? Why did the government get involved in the first place? Let the private sector do this and earn or lose money on their own.

Jesse Harris | 9:16 a.m. March 14, 2008

What's really funny in all of this is that Provo could make up the red ink within a single month by raising the wholesale rate of each service my a measly $3-5 a month, yet they haven't even looked at this obvious solution. Instead, it's all study groups and pricey consultants. iProvo's problem isn't the concept, it's the implementation.

iProvo supporter during POC days | 9:47 a.m. March 14, 2008

"Government is the answer" has it right. Dish, DirectTV.. cox.. bring them in. For whatever reason the good ole boys running the network, ie Kevin Garlick are running this thing into the ground. There are so many cool implementations that can be done with a fiber network. But current managers are not IT savy. Garlick needs to go. They have been promising BYU, UVSC classes on the system. Where are they? Why can't I sign up for community ed classes? Bring in other providers ie xmission. Think outside the box!!! Comcast will surely jack up prices if compeition is gone. When I was on iprovo it went down twice in the 3.5 years I had it. It was FLAWLESS. iProvo just needs new management!

The Buck Stops Here | 10:33 a.m. March 14, 2008

The problem with iProvo has been the management from the beginning. Why are there no tough questions being asked of the Mayor or the "Acting" TelComm Manager? Where is the accountability for their poor management and decisions? How long will the Council continue to support these poor decisions and leadership? Your silence is your approval of their actions Council Members. Please, for the sake of us Provo Citizens that will be forced to pay for this fiasco for years to come, it is time to clear the slate, let them go, and get someone in that can make the proper decisions and has the internal fortitude to do what really needs to be done to get this thing back in the black.

Too expensive | 11:23 a.m. March 14, 2008

iProvo is just too expensive. When shopping around for high-speed internet alone, which is what most people might be interested in, they cost too much. Why pay $40/month for iProvo when you can get decent high speeds with a Qwest DSL line for $25/month?

iProvo User | 11:52 a.m. March 14, 2008

I agree that the biggest problem iProvo has is management. They need to open it up to more providers who are reliable and tech savvy along with taking the hobbles off of those providers and let them offer what the market wants instead of requiring them to offer the Provo Cable lineup and restricting the bandwidth they can offer. Along with that, the city departments that use the network need to pay their fair share of the costs. The city is on the hook for the cost of installing the system regardless of whether they shut it down or not, so bailing out is not a valid option.

John P | 11:59 a.m. March 14, 2008

Since when does the definition of Republican include being against municipal utility systems? Provo's power system provides very inexpensive power which I enjoy. We aren't talking about a product that the big boys were offering when iProvo was put in place.

The real problem here is the ridiculous law put in place by the state legislature which won't allow city's to "retail" the product directly.

Comcast and ATT have deep pockets, and pay their lobbyists well.

Put the right people in charge! | 2:56 p.m. March 14, 2008

The comments of pro-iProvo people like Jesse Harris can be summarized as "socialized telecom isn't working because the right people aren't in charge".

iprovo insider | 10:13 a.m. March 15, 2008

i agree that the problem is management and the mayor, why pay for analists when you are going to tell them they are wrong and we are going to do it anyway. these people think they are smarter then anybody else and handle any inside oppisition with a iron fist. they have not told the public or the council that over half the employees at iprovo are paid for from the energy department budget, they are constantly taking money from them that is never reported. they can't sell iprovo because its in their high voltage pipes, they are the only ones that can maintane it, so you see, you are stuck for the bill because the mayor , kevin garlic all decided that you didn't need to be herd or vote for this, this socialist group needs to go before they ruin the city, of course will be stuck with 100 million dollar bill to pay when their gone.

It all starts with one | 9:03 a.m. March 16, 2008

Lewis Billings

Anonymous | 10:22 a.m. March 16, 2008

All I know is iProvo's internet service is more efficient speed wise compared to Comcast and it's also cheaper.

Bill Lewis | 9:28 a.m. March 17, 2008

What a shocker a government entity can't figure out how to run a business. Oh but, we were assured that fiber optic networks are infrastructure just like our roads. Well, no one is in competition get more people to use there road. I say take the shortfall out of the iProvo local government supporters wallets. If you want it you pay for it.

Andrew Wilson | 9:20 a.m. March 31, 2008

The real difficulty with iProvo has been the legislation that prohibits the city from providing the service directly as with Provo Power. The law requires a retail surrogate to offer the service; and Provo has no control over poor customer relations or poor service. The solution seems clear to me. Have Nuvont, MStar etal contract with the city to provide all the services directly, using city employees. The service companies handle all the billing to comply with the law, and all will be well.

The bottom line is: Telecom capacity is the infrastructure of 21st Century commerce. Comcast and Quest simply refused to provide this capacity, focusing resources in Colorado and elsewhere. Provo City acted wisely and prudently to bring fiber-optic service to Provo. That's one reason Provo is such a great place for business. Kudos for iProvo in spite of its faults. Give it time.

Sagacious Inquisitor | 10:29 a.m. April 2, 2008

Lets see.

Comcast knows that to stay in business and provide a service it MUST price that service at a level which will cover ALL THE COSTS and still produce a (Gosh ....how horrible)PROFIT. If not they die.

IProvo, foolishly, BELIEVES and has wild eyed day-dreams that it can do the same thing; at higher costs, with less competent management, with limited foresight, at a cheaper (more Socialistically EQUAL) price and still remain viable. They Can!!!!! Only because they have the miraculous power to steal money (taxation) from everybody in order to subsidize their inefficiency, greed (for money, power or both)and Socialistic Orientation.

Will someone please tell the people over at UTOPIA to pay attention. They are doing in spades what IProvo is again proving can't be done.

Government shouldn't and CAN'T be a meaningful player in any economy; unless, of course in their own minds, they have magically found out how to not repeat the experience of every Socialist Experiment of the past.

IProvo is destined for abject economic failure. So is UTOPIA!

The only thing for sure is that for the next 20 to 30+ years, the taxpayers will be paying for the Government's foolishness and greed.

Best Service Available | 5:55 p.m. April 3, 2008

Great service, great product. Better prices with higher quality. It doesn't seem unrealistic for a business venture to take a hit as it gets going. Progress is being made, the quality must be improving because all I hear are complaints. I am fairly new to iProvo, but I have had an excellent experience. So my assumption is those who had a bad experience were early adopters. Fact is, capabilities of a fiber network are multiple degrees of magnitude above other forms of data communication. This is the future, and I am glad to be in a city above the learning curve.

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