Video Pitches UTOPIA to Google for Gigabit Network

The second installment in the ongoing Community Broadband Film Series spotlights “Rocketeers: The UTOPIA Fiber Story” – an eye-opening documentary that tells the story of how a publicly-owned fiber network has ignited local Internet choice and competition across dozens of cities. The event will begin with a screening of the 24-minute film and then treat attendees to a live Red Carpet discussion with UTOPIA Fiber CEO Roger Timmerman and key leaders of two communities that are now part of the fast growing UTOPIA network – Sid Boswell, CEO of Yellowstone Fiber in Bozeman, Montana; and Bountiful, Utah Councilmember Kate Bradshaw.

Officials in Bountiful, Utah say they’ve completed the city’s $48 million open access fiber network a year ahead of schedule, bringing fast, affordable broadband access to the Salt Lake City suburb of 45,000. The city of Bountiful owns the network while UTOPIA designed, built and manages the network and takes a share of the revenue.

UTOPIA Fiber is celebrating another banner year as the nation’s largest community-owned open access network recently announced its subscriber growth numbers for 2024. The Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency recently announced it officially hit the 70,000 subscriber mark and is now delivering fiber-to-the-home access in 21 Utah cities, partnering with 19 private-sector ISPs.

If you missed our inaugural Community Broadband Film Fest series kick off last week, the entirety of the event can still be viewed here. Following the live screening before an audience of over 100 virtual participants there was a lively discussion with several of the film’s key figures, including Holland Mayor Nathan Bocks.

Mountain View officials hired the consulting firm, Entrust Solutions, to take a closer look at the city’s broadband availability metrics and device potential options for the city. The finished report and accompanying technical memorandum note that Comcast enjoys a monopoly over vast swaths of the city, resulting in expensive, slow, and spotty access.

California ISP Onward, which has increasingly partnered with California cities to expand affordable fiber access, is leveraging $4.7 million in American Rescue Plan Act broadband grants to further expand its footprint into long-unserved areas of San Diego County. The effort is running parallel with the San Diego County Library Tech Connect Program that has provided 7,000 Google Chromebooks and MiFi hotspots with unlimited data plans to residents and students to the internet for free.