Reader comments
Provo eyes ways to fix its network
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Sick of it! | 7:09 a.m. April 22, 2008
I am entirely sick of this albatross around our necks in Provo. I suggest
Billings resign and take his pet project with him. It's a complete failure
and there is no way they should further raise taxes to pay for it. They've
already cost Provo's citizens by stealing money from every budget they can.
Sick of it!
Capt. Video | 8:47 a.m. April 22, 2008
Provo is committed on this project. The network is built and the bond payments
WILL be paid by the city.
The Mayor is right, selling is only a good option if the city were able to sell for something close to what they owe. If they sold now and did not get near what they own, they would still be making the payments of the millions or tens of millions(?) difference. If they improve the network subscriber numbers, increase uses (meter reading, etc), (as suggested by the Mayor and two independent outside consultants) and THEN sell (when the corn is ready to harvest) they will be much better off.
iProvo has trouble and needs the support of Provo citizens....not panic selling. The best way to help iProvo is to sign up and keep your money in Provo and not send it to Denver (Qwest) or Penn. (Comcast).
Perhaps the power to fix iProvo and get it ready for a sale rests more in the hands of Provo residents (by signing up) than the Mayor or Council.
The Mayor is right, selling is only a good option if the city were able to sell for something close to what they owe. If they sold now and did not get near what they own, they would still be making the payments of the millions or tens of millions(?) difference. If they improve the network subscriber numbers, increase uses (meter reading, etc), (as suggested by the Mayor and two independent outside consultants) and THEN sell (when the corn is ready to harvest) they will be much better off.
iProvo has trouble and needs the support of Provo citizens....not panic selling. The best way to help iProvo is to sign up and keep your money in Provo and not send it to Denver (Qwest) or Penn. (Comcast).
Perhaps the power to fix iProvo and get it ready for a sale rests more in the hands of Provo residents (by signing up) than the Mayor or Council.
Comments continue below
to Capt. Video | 9:43 a.m. April 22, 2008
Doesn't matter what they owe buddy, Provo should sell this thing for
whatever it's worth. They've shown they don't have the ability
run this thing profitably (as many people predicted).
Time to let private companies do what they do best. Bureaucrats like to dabble, but it inevitably leads to the taxpayers bearing the cost of their hubris.
Time to let private companies do what they do best. Bureaucrats like to dabble, but it inevitably leads to the taxpayers bearing the cost of their hubris.
Way to Go, Pro-Vo! | 9:48 a.m. April 22, 2008
Yet another example of Provo's complete lack of understanding of what types
of infrastructure the city needs. "Let's come up with a mediocre
digital network to 'compete' with all of the many experts in the
industry whose standards we can't hope to meet." Sounds like a great
use of time and money, Billings and company! Not like there's anything
else to worry about.
sob | 10:18 a.m. April 22, 2008
you create a product that nobody wants and
what do you get...... debt
own up to it, get rid of it.
what do you get...... debt
own up to it, get rid of it.
Pat Eyler | 10:39 a.m. April 22, 2008
As a current iProvo customer (until my contract is up and I can leave without
eating the cost), I've got to say that unless they improve customer service
and their offering, it's going to be hard to attract/keep customers. If
Mayor Billings wants to get iProvo out of the red, maybe he should look at
making it a worthwhile offering.
Enough | 12:32 p.m. April 22, 2008
I've had enough of this junk called iProvo. I have been in multiple City
Council meetings where they quickly vote to "steal" from another
budget to pay for the mayor's pet albatross. They are stealing money from
Provo's kids because the Parks in Provo are the worst in the state!
Schools are also underfunded. Why should I, as a resident of Provo, dig into my
pocket for a service that is nowhere near as trustworthy as what I can get from
Qwest or Comcast and costs more?
veedub | 1:35 p.m. April 22, 2008
I used to have full iProvo service until we decided we really didn't want
to pay for cable, and we eliminated our land line in favor of cell phones only.
We kept only the Internet service, and it's (so far) reasonably priced and
generally works fine. My main complaint is not with iProvo itself, but with
MStar, which has HORRIBLE customer service. Emailing them NEVER gets a response,
and calling means you're on the phone for 30 minutes waiting to talk to
someone.
I don't know if iProvo can make a go of it, but they have no business asking the city residents to subsidize it.
I don't know if iProvo can make a go of it, but they have no business asking the city residents to subsidize it.
Happy Customer | 1:35 p.m. April 22, 2008
I love the iProvo service. I have never had a problem with it. Qwest and Comcast
were much less reliable then my iProvo service has ever been. I have recommended
iProvo to anyone who has asked my opinion and everyone I recommended it to loves
the service.
The best thing the residents of Provo can do is support the project. If you you are so concerned about doing what is best financially for the city then help get the project out of debt. That will be better the complaining and try to sell and make the city lose even more money.
The best thing the residents of Provo can do is support the project. If you you are so concerned about doing what is best financially for the city then help get the project out of debt. That will be better the complaining and try to sell and make the city lose even more money.
Need for free enterprise | 4:29 p.m. April 22, 2008
Re: Captain Video and Happy Customer. It is a "nice" social thought to
say that we should just spend our dollars in Provo and not buy products offered
by companies with interests outside of Provo. However, this idea has been tried
and this idea has failed on both a small and large scale many times over.
Don't repeat the already bad history. The broken economies of eastern
europe and latin america are stark examples. Let free enterpise work. The market
will always produce the best products at the best price. Get rid of the
political socialists that are just trying to stay in power at the expense of the
people. BTW the report by "independent consultants" is managed.
Don't be fooled.
Don't be fooled.
Dot | 4:50 p.m. April 22, 2008
I have iProvo internet and love it. Customer service was a problem in the past
but they are much quicker now to respond. Maybe they should ditch the phone and
TV service and just provide internet. It seems to work well.
Had Enough | 7:37 a.m. April 23, 2008
Capt. Video. You say Provo is committed to this project. I say fine. Are they
committed to making it profitable? What earth-shaking adjustment have they made
to the situation in order to make it profitable. The best they can come up with
is making all of the other city departments subsidize this project. Is it fair
to Comcast or Qwest to have to compete with this government subsidy to Iprovo?
If Iprovo cannot stand on its own and compete fairly, it is doomed. They should
look for a buyer.
Captain Video Unmasked! | 2:10 p.m. April 24, 2008
Captain Video, having been a top employee for iProvo, how can you now be its
biggest supporter when you were part of the management problem?
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What happens when the city starts paying all this money for "other" iProvo services? That just means that every other city agency is now coming up short and must cut services or raise more money. So on it goes costing more and more and what has actually been done to make this new business profitable? Nothing! It is just an elaborate shell game.