1. Service Provider Mobility: UTOPIA, Perfection
or Fantasy: Partnering public-private sectors
with broadband
Posted by Leonard Grace May 9, 2010
Utopia: the definition brings about visions
of an “ideal place or state”, or “a system of political and social perfection.”
Thus became the name chosen for a consortium of sixteen Utah cities building
their own broadband infrastructure with a fiber-to-the-premise architecture,
while offering residents a clear and alternative choice to incumbent operators,
including Quest and Comcast. Is it perfection or fantasy?
UTOPIA, billed as providing light-speed to your door while connecting you with friends,
family, entertainment, businesses, healthcare, and education, highlights itself as being part
of your home, not owned by any network provider. It is unique in that UTOPIA is part of a
combined network owned by connected cities, and therefore citizens of each community.
It allows any network provider to use the infrastructure to offer related consumers services
in an effort to create more competition within the broadband universe, and to provide rural
residents state of the art fiber connections to their homes.
Overview:
• Maintained by city employees, UTOPIA requires a deposit to participate just as
citizens would pay for a sewer connection to their home
Generated by Jive SBS on 2010-05-25-06:00
1

2. Service Provider Mobility: UTOPIA, Perfection or Fantasy: Partnering public-private sectors with broadband
• A monthly service fee is charged to maintain the system which includes
maintenance, and billing just as with electric, water & sewer services
• Open Access Network – open to various service providers which have access to
the network
UTOPIA Service Providers:
Brigham.net
Prime Time Communications
Connected Lyfe
Nuvont Communications
FIBERNET
Veracity Communications
FUZECORE
integra TELECOM
Telesphere
XMISSION
VOONAMI
Currently with eleven listed service providers using the network, UTOPIA is offering a
variety of services to residents within its service area. In the past two years since hiring new
management, subscriber growth has doubled from previous levels beginning from 2002.
UTOPIA indicates a need to add another twenty thousand customers quickly to ensure the
long-term viability of the consortiums investment.
Generated by Jive SBS on 2010-05-25-06:00
2

3. Service Provider Mobility: UTOPIA, Perfection or Fantasy: Partnering public-private sectors with broadband
This venture is similar to what Google has committed to accomplish with its advertised
foray into the broadband infrastructure arena touting network speeds one-hundred
times faster than those typically offered today. Goggle will also operate an (open access
network) allowing multiple service providers to offer subscribers a wide variety of enhanced
applications and services. See (Think big with a gig: Our experimental fiber network)
Divergent Industry Infrastructures
Historically, Cable operators have chosen the hybrid-fiber coax architecture to build out their
networks, with Docsis 3, and GPON to gain efficiencies in bandwidth. Others like Verizon,
UTOPIA, and now Google have opted to use fiber-to-the-premise, a total fiber network to
connect customers to a true high-powered and hefty bandwidth architecture, which can offer
deep access to both existing and future applications.
While the hybrid-fiber-coax construction is less expensive on the front end, it is not
considered the long-term or end game solution. Total fiber construction is more expensive
on the front end, but as costs continue to come down more service providers will opt to
consider this solution.
Perfection or Fantasy
UTOPIA, Verizon, and Google’s networks will have to be proven profitable both in
the short and long-term to be considered viable alternatives in private industry
adoption. The heavy capital expenditures on the front end for fiber-to-the-
premise construction must be coupled with robust adoption by customers to not
only reach a break-even cash flow standpoint, but go on to make a reasonable
profit.
This will be critical in obtaining needed capital for companies going forward, where UTOPIA
is using bond issues along with pre-paid deposits and long-term subscription agreements
to fund its venture. There is no doubt that fiber-to-the-premise is robust alternative from
Generated by Jive SBS on 2010-05-25-06:00
3

4. Service Provider Mobility: UTOPIA, Perfection or Fantasy: Partnering public-private sectors with broadband
an operational standpoint with its high speeds, hefty bandwidth, and future applications
potential.
125 Views Tags: network, service, access, provider, broadband, verizon, open, google, comcast, utopia, fiber-to-the-
premise, quest
May 10, 2010 11:07 AM Kittur Nagesh
Thanks Leonard for an interesting topic.
As you know, competition is good for all of us, especially for the consumer. Customers, in
general, think applications and social/business context. The network is expected to work
well. Often the operator gets the blame when something goes wrong, doesn't matter if it is
the application or the device.
IMHO, a successful consortium achieves the following:
• Creates a compelling base offer and constantly innovates around it to stay
competitive.
• Executes on a common purpose while ensuring compliance to regulatory policies.
Sometimes, profit-motivated enterprises may have a vested interest in the
consortium. The net neutrality debate has clearly exposed this.
• Has a long-term view of the benefits to the ecosystem and the society
• Demonstrates open access to membership, decision making positions, etc.
In the case of telecom consortium, the cities (and its citizens) should believe in the value
of the broadband enablement and fund appropriately or create viable apolitical business
models.
How do you compare UTOPIA against these guidelines? If executed right, other cities may
follow UTOPIA model!
Regards,
Kittur Nagesh
Generated by Jive SBS on 2010-05-25-06:00
4

5. Service Provider Mobility: UTOPIA, Perfection or Fantasy: Partnering public-private sectors with broadband
May 10, 2010 12:20 PM Leonard Grace Kittur Nagesh in response to
Kittur, thanks for the great comment!
While recently attending the 2010 Broadband Properties Summit in Dallas, TX, I had a
chance to meet with both UTOPIA representatives, and Keynote Speaker, Graham Richard,
former mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and founder of Graham Richard Associates.
Graham created a roundtable from a small group of individuals interested in the proliferation
of broadband to study, collaborate, and make recommendations going forward, in helping to
create partnerships with cities/communities in bringing broadband to Rural America.
This meeting led to my article on UTOPIA, in highlighting what communities can accomplish
with public/private partnerships in moving a broadband agenda from inital ideas to
conception. With the right research and development of a combined entity committed to a
state of the art telecommunications infrastructure, good things can happen.
It involves thinking innovatively and purposefully for both short and long-term funding,
long-term collaborative involvement from all community members, while creating the right
management team with sound financial and operational experience for future success.
The open network concept helps create local jobs while giving the community tools to:
• attract and retain good paying jobs for all concerned
• create e-educational opportunities for all citizens
• create e-healthcare opportunities for all citizens
• create e-energy efficiencies for business, government, and residential customers
• improve to overall standard of living for citizens
Generated by Jive SBS on 2010-05-25-06:00
5

6. Service Provider Mobility: UTOPIA, Perfection or Fantasy: Partnering public-private sectors with broadband
Communities working together can make a difference in the health and welfare of its
citizens. It takes a long-term commitment to political, social, and fiduciary responsibility to
make it happen.
Generated by Jive SBS on 2010-05-25-06:00
6