A new battle is brewing over how Utahns view high-speed internet access in the wake of changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since November, the community-owned network growing in Utah’s backyard and known as Utopia has been attacked by a shadowy national television and mailer campaign smearing the network, which is allegedly government-run and mired in debt. Ta.
Officials with Murray-based Utopia Fiber, now the nation’s largest open-access municipal power grid, announced plans this week to counter with a media blitz of their own, highlighting the 22-year-old consortium’s local roots and Utah He emphasized the enthusiastic support from 21 cities. .
The company’s new “Chosen by YOUtah” media effort recognizes the internet provider’s high metrics for network reliability and satisfaction among its customer base, which currently numbers more than 62,000 in the Wasatch Front communities served by its broadband fiber network. It is also intended for advertising.
Utopia executives say they are perplexed by the timing of the latest attack campaign, nearly 15 years after a dramatic turnaround under new management in 2009 and a top-to-bottom financial restructuring.
“It’s really strange,” said Roger Timmerman, UTOPIA’s executive director and CEO. “Because from our point of view, despite all this garbage and misinformation, the situation at UTOPIA is really better than it has ever been.”
“Join the fight”
In addition to creating the website NoGovInternet.com, the $1 million anti-UTOPIA campaign, which mass-distributed pamphlets to some homes in Salt Lake County, traces its origins to domestic policy executives in Washington, D.C. It comes from a group that appears to be affiliated with conservative causes, called the Society.
“Don’t let politicians interfere with the internet,” the website says.
This bare-bones site offers free, business-centered critiques of government broadband networks, providing financial support to cities like Bristol, Virginia, and Traverse City, Michigan, as well as Provo, where municipal power grids are installed. cites examples of other networks with difficult histories. iProvo fell into disrepute before he was sold to Google for $1.
The issue-oriented group also attacks Utopia for the crippling debt it incurred early in its history and says the network continually wastes taxpayer money. “Join the fight,” it directs users to an online petition and encourages them to contact their state legislators.
Representatives of the underground finance group, which is not required to publicly disclose the identities of its donors, did not respond to a Salt Lake Tribune investigation into who is supporting the campaign and its main claims.
Timmerman and other Utopia officials say the campaign’s supporters “don’t seem to care about the truth.” They are targeting our growth potential with misinformation. ”
Former Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes, a spokesman for the Utah-based Domestic Policy Caucus-backed campaign, also claimed he had no knowledge of who was paying for the national advertising campaign.
But Hughes said his involvement with NoGovInternet.com is part of a “Utah initiative” whose themes are not only to the general public, but also to the interests of private internet service providers who view UTOPIA as unfair competition. He added that it also resonates with him. The goal, he said, is not to cancel what Utopia has built or existing relationships with cities, but rather to encourage city residents and elected leaders who may consider joining the public grid. The aim is to educate people.
“I just want to send a warning that for cities and governments to get into the internet business, it’s outside of their realm, and there’s a history of it not working,” Hughes said.
Growth is “progressing rapidly”
Demand for broadband continues to change due to pandemic lockdowns and how Utahns have adapted to working from home, remote learning, and accessing telehealth. While this trend continues to shape public perception about the need for reliable broadband, it also raises the financial risks of who provides that access.
Timmerman said Utopia added a record 10,000 new subscribers last year, has more than 62,000 active subscribers, and has fiber-optic lines installed near 200,000 homes and businesses, making it one of the nation’s largest and It has become a rapidly growing urban power grid.
“It took us years to get to this point, and now the growth is really rapid,” he said.
West Valley City was one of 11 cities that founded UTOPIA in 2002 in hopes of filling the gap in high-speed access in communities not served by private internet providers. Former City Attorney Nicole Cottle, who now works as Utopia’s general counsel, said she is excited to see communities like the West Valley “level up” with improved broadband access.
“I happen to have witnessed firsthand how it has helped our community thrive, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Cottle said. “We have seen significant benefits…and it’s important to remember, this is a community-driven initiative and is very unique across the country.”
He added that the impact on economic development from improved connectivity has been “huge.”
UTOPIA officials say that, like other municipal networks, UTOPIA acts as a kind of wholesaler for internet infrastructure. That means partnering with participating cities to build and maintain high-speed fiber-to-the-home networks, and relying on a list of 15 private internet service providers to provide access and service to customers. A portion of subscriber revenues will be used to repay municipal bonds issued to fund network construction.
Are you targeting recent wins?
The municipal power grid, which has network centers in Murray and South Salt Lake, has made good progress in recent months as it continues to expand its member cities, announcing it has completed network construction in Cedar Hills, Syracuse and Santa Clara. .
In another high-profile victory, the Bountiful City Council announced this summer after years of study and debate, despite a petition to block the proposal in the city of 45,000 residents. , unanimously approved to join Utopia.
“Bountiful was kind of a turning point, because Bountiful is pretty conservative,” said Pete, owner-operator of X-Mission, Utah’s oldest internet service provider and retailer of Utopia’s fiber optic services.・Mr. Ashdown says. He said Utopia’s competitors may now be trying to get ahead of other cities and townships following the same path.
The U.S. Public Broadband Association, the national industry group for municipal networks, said that when Bountiful signed on, large “incumbent” cable and internet providers, such as Comcast and CenturyLink, had announced that, contrary to her calls, It suggested the city was being targeted as part of a deceptive promotion. “Community Her Broadband Freedom of Choice.”
“Incumbent companies are running these campaigns despite refusing to provide universal connectivity to these communities,” said Gig Thorne, the group’s executive director.
With billions of dollars in broadband now available to states based on recent federal infrastructure spending, Thorne said, It’s a community that’s not just a few wealthy people. ”
