Reader comments
Cities asked to boost money for UTOPIA

Centerville please voto yes | 12:29 a.m. April 1, 2008

The tax base provided by Wal-Mart alone should cover the increase (oh wait - you gave that away - my bad). Anyway, my best bud Brian has the WII and we need utopia because QWEST doesn't have server expansion budgeted for South Davis County until the year 2525, if man is still alive, if woman can survive... I shred him at Guitar Hero now because his internet is slower than a morning commute past Pages Lane. Vote yea.

arc | 6:27 a.m. April 1, 2008

Many cities, such as WVC have been loyal to Utopia, but still do not have their city covered by more than about 1/5th. That isn't a good track record for the rest.

stephencpace | 6:36 a.m. April 1, 2008

Seems like this is what always happens when conservatives spot something that "government can do better."

Comments continue below

Please Do This! | 7:53 a.m. April 1, 2008

The reason cities have remained faithful is because the build out has been delayed by frivolous lawsuits from Quest and an incompetent federal grant agency that awarded the money but wouldn't release the funds. Fortunately, UTOPIA leaders didn't forge ahead--they cut back and delayed to stay within budget and now have a better strategy to move forward responsibly.

It's easy for critics to point fingers at the government without knowing the whole story, but as a taxpayer I am grateful city leaders have been patient and careful when taxpayer pledges are at risk. I'm also glad the article clarified that no tax dollars have been used for the project. That's been the idea all along. Now just please do what it takes to get this thing built!

Customer | 8:32 a.m. April 1, 2008

We are fortunate to have UTOPIA in our neighborhood. It is wonderful. Not only is the phone service great, the internet is screaming fast. The TV is clear and reliable as well. It's also good not to have to deal with lying incompetent companies such as Quest and AT&T. UTOPIA is worth the wait and every dollar!

John | 8:38 a.m. April 1, 2008

I had a friend that lived in Utopia. He was never the same after that.

Sagacious Inquisitor | 8:53 a.m. April 1, 2008

UTOPIA: one more example of Government gone bad.

Government's role SHOULD be as regulator and moderator. EVERYTIME Government becomes a player, you can rest assured that economic principles will suffer.
EVERYTIME Government pretends that it has any capability whatsoever in things economic, the people suffer. EVERYTIME Government practices to deceive (intentionally or otherwise) it begins to weave its tangled web.

GAMBLING with public moneys should never be allowed. UTOPIA is such a GAMBLE. Better served would be the people if the UTOPIA Board simply took the funds to Las Vegas to prove how competent they are at evaluating the probable outcome of this roll of the dice.

Before UTOPIA is completed some wireless, private sector competitor will surely make it obsolete. The only thing about UTOPIA which is not defacto obsolete is the myopic, self-serving commitment of the "sponsoring cities" to now FURTHER increase the bonded obligation of their citizens to pay for a project which will never be utilized.

Look to IProvo as the blueprint for UTOPIA.

This boondoggle is not financially viable. If it were, financing would be readily available from Bear Stearns, or some other private source.

Again, another Government foisted UTOPIA is destined to fail.

Question | 9:40 a.m. April 1, 2008

Why didn't the federal government release the funds? Did it have anything to do with UTOPIA not reaching any of the projections they laid out in the feasibility report they used to secure those funds, and the federal government getting concerned that they would never see their money again? So the feds awarded the money but didn't release the funds- if they'd never awarded the money, how would UTOPIA be funding continued buildout? I guess we're finding out right now...

Yes, no taxpayer funds have been used-- yet. That's because they're using the new credit card offer they got in the mail to pay off the old credit card that was about to put them under. If they can't make it work with more realistic projections of take rates (lower than they thought)and competition (more than they thought) and lawsuits (how could they not have seen that coming?) and construction costs (higher than they thought) they will still end up handing the taxpayers the bill. These new bonds just put that off a few years...

Person | 10:26 a.m. April 1, 2008

I can't wait until Utopia is finished, it will finally be something that puts Utah on the leading edge of technology. If we can get this thing sorted out and completed properly, then we'll be an example for other states to follow when creating their own high-speed networks.

James Bickmore | 11:04 a.m. April 1, 2008

This looks like the vicious cycle of spend now, pay later. It reminds me of the sub-prime mess we are in now that threatens an economic recession across the United States.

If the model were viable there would be plenty of private funding to make this work.

JB

Anonymous | 11:10 a.m. April 1, 2008

Those who are claiming UTOPIA represents government competing with private business need to go back and clarify their facts:

UTOPIA does NOT offer ISP services. It is only an infrastructure that ISPs can then contract to offer services over.

Qwest & Comcast both have competing infrastructures, it's true - but in both cases those infrastructures represent government subsidies and government-backed monopolies that built the infrastructure in the first place.

Same Old Excuses | 12:05 p.m. April 1, 2008

Does this sound like a recorded message?
Every year we hear the same thing over and over again. Utopia will be achieved with one more bail out. What is wrong with this picture? Who is getting the benefits?

If this had been a business, the plug would have been pulled a long time ago. Come on government leaders, make it work with what you have. Stop asking tax payers to bail out your poor decisions.

Sagacious Inquisitor | 1:47 p.m. April 1, 2008

Anonymous,

Interestingly you sound like a UTOPIA employee; spouting the company line.

In the rhetoric of UTOPIA pushers, they are only getting involved in this because it is an "essential service" which MUST be provided by Government.

If that specious line is true, why does not Government provide ALL "essential services"? Like the food infrastructure, for example? Maybe Government should build and own all the stores and trucks (the essential infrastructure)and then offer Independent Sales Provider (ISP) opportunities to Smith's, Dan's, Albertson's and any other Provider who wants to sell food.

UPTOIA will fail economically. They have already misssed their (dishonest or foolish) budget by about 100% and that cost will probably reach over $500,000,000 before it (never) reaches completion. Again, the public is being scammed.

Sure, there will be a few who will subscribe to and use this marvelous boondoggle. But, the majority will subsidize that extremely limited usage.

Government should be a regulator . . . NEVER a player. When they become players we'll surely pay at least double for their "services".

At least on a dairy farm one can choose to be serviced. When Government must meet its foolish bond obligations, no one can avoid being serviced.

Do the Math | 4:43 p.m. April 1, 2008

UTOPIA = iProvo * 15

Every city council ought to vote NO!!!

Why the Gamble? | 4:54 p.m. April 1, 2008

If high speed internet was not available commerically at a reasonable price, I would be in favor of UTOPIA too. But since the phone and cable companies offer this service, why do cities need to take this risk?

Orem Parent | 8:10 p.m. April 1, 2008

I love UTOPIA. The screaming fast internet is unbeatable. Phone system is also nice. The tv isn't the greatest but I took it so I could get the MTN.

UTOPIA's prices for all 3 services were less than I was paying for DISH and QWEST phone alone.

They just need to expand to the rest of the city and many people would subscribe.

Hopefully it comes soon.

Another Boondoggle | 8:16 p.m. April 1, 2008

When a venture such as this cannot be financed 100% on the commercial market without government backing, that's a clue that the people who are paid large sums of money to review these things don't believe that it is economically viable. They are usually right.

Look for other similar bailout requests in the near future for the REAL Sandy stadium complex and the project being built at the former Cottonwood Mall site in Holladay.

All The Same | 9:38 p.m. April 1, 2008

This is what happens to a venture that was designed after the iProvo fiasco heralded by Billings and Garlick! Why are they still running iProvo and why are the Utopia leaders still calling the shots when they have misfired so many times?

Lone Voice | 9:58 p.m. April 1, 2008

I told UTOPIA at every public meeting they held in cities they were smoking crack to think their grand plan was possible on the budget offered. Heck even Qwest wanted to know where they were planning on getting all these fiber lines cheaper then QWEST could buy with 9 states of bulk buying power behind them.

Alas community leaders are lemmings who believed the city attorney of West Valley City who dreamed he could be the operator and designer of such a fantasy fiber network. Centerville has been obligated to debt without UTOPIA for four years and counting - what good will adding to the debt package bring to my city? Nothing but more debt.

As part of this package of refinancing do the executives of UTOPIA plan on a pay cut?

I put up with the bullying tactics and the dismissals of the UTOPIA fan club during way too many city council meetings to feel anything but anger at the validation of what I and other professional IT people told them when this was still a harmless idea. "You're wasting taxpayer money on an impossible dream!"

I guess it never occurred lawyers aren't network engineers!

Arthur Dent | 10:19 p.m. April 1, 2008

Centerville city posted the public notice so deep in the city website as to make it almost impossible to find! This cute tactic effectively prevented actually notifying anyone who might care in the community from making comments!

"they were in the bottom drawer of a locked filing cabinet, stuck upside-down, in a disused toilet with a sign on the door saying 'BEWARE OF THE LEOPARD!..."

Nice going Centerville city leaders - glad to know we can trust you to protect us from having a voice in city issues. Why not try next time a front page website listing when dealing with public hearings on multi-decade debts!!!!

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