Reader comments
iProvo, Broadweave nearly close deal

Would be interesting to see how much Billings and crew had invested in iProvo vs what they sold it for. Yet another dabbling by government that makes someone a good buy at taxpayers expense.

Sandy's soccer stadium may make Larry Miller a nice place to move his Baseball team to and again at taxpayers expense.

UTOPIA can't be far behind the iProvo deal, just a lot more of taxpayer money involved....suckers!

If you can find it in the yellow pages, should government be doing it? Just a thought.

I doubt that Broadweave will last long in this market. They have yet to be anywhere remotely close to turning a profit. How long before Sorenson pulls their funding? I give it two years at best.

Actually, I'm ok with putting some tax money into this sort of thing. My tax money frequently goes to projects for which I receive little to no benefit ($7 mil to move a golf course?). This sort of project brings high-tech interest to the city, lowers Internet/Phone/Video prices, and stimulates economic activity. This is far more beneficial than installing overpriced lampposts throughout downtown. Even if you're not a customer, you're still benefiting from lower prices from the competitors. I'm not sure why everyone is opposed to the idea of subsidizing this from tax money. If I save $200/year on my Comcrap bill (which is lower in Provo and UTOPIA cities), then I have no problem subsidizing the project that caused the lower prices.

I too am ok with tax dollars going for this type thing.
My tax dollars go to parks, fancy light poles, the freedom festival, the arts center, library and many other service I don't use (but support).

I think of this service as valuable and good for the community.

I will accept that the execution by iProvo and UTOPIA left much to be desired. Don't base the value of all municipal networks on them.

I believe Spanish Fork is running a profitable network as are some other cities?

I agree that it won't be too long before Sorenson Capital tires of writing a check every month just as Provo City has.

Not much in the way of communications about the transfer from anyone to customers. I've received mail from Comcast on the sale but not from Broadweave.

The claim of Provo getting a million plus dollar service for only $300,000 a year should be looked into. It might be more accurate to say that if Provo used the proposed services to their fullest (which could cost Provo millions in equipment), it might be worth that much? If they don't use the fiber to the fullest they might be overpaying as a way to lower the sale price by $6 million to make the deal look better?

Currently Provo will pay $25,000 a month to Broadweave for exactly what? What would that cost on the open market? Might be an interesting story for a good investigative reporter?

I lose benefits because of tight budgets and Provo has the money to cut a 19 year deal for $300,000 a year in services they might not be using?

It's time for cities to include fiber optic networks as part of their normal infrastructure just like power lines, roads and sewers. We're there folks. The Internet is here to stay just like running water.

I'm anxious to see if a change will take place. I like the idea of a new provider and a new operator from the private sector. Government should stay out of this. Broadweave has the right people involved. I may sign up, but I would never sign up for a government run operation. I heard very negative things about Nuvont, Mstar, Veracity.

Duh, Nuvont, Mstar and Veracity are providers who use the network to provide services to people. They ARE NOT government run operations.

Yep, another Provo Resident lemming willing to follow Billings off any cliff and why? Because he was your stake president?