HOUSTON – Officials at UTOPIA Fiber briefed reporters today at the 2022 Broadband Communities Summit in Houston on numerous ongoing projects the community-owned Open Access network is driving. Roger Timmerman, UTOPIA Fiber's chief executive was joined by the agency's deputy director, Kimberly McKinley, Golden State Connect Authority's (GSCA) Barbara Hayes and Yellowstone Fiber's CEO, Greg Metzger, and shared the following news:
Historic California partnership
In April, GSCA announced it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UTOPIA Fiber to help develop and operate a municipally-owned Open Access network in California's 38 rural counties. According to Barbara Hayes, Chief Economic Development Officer for Rural County Representatives of California, GSCA's sister agency, the project is both the largest publicly-owned fiber network under development in the United States and the nation's most-ambitious Open Access network, slated to span 38 of California's 58 counties.Montana's Yellowstone Fiber
Just three months ago, Bozeman, Montana-based Yellowstone Fiber announced an Operational Partnership with UTOPIA Fiber to help design, build, and operate a fiber-to-the-premises network in the City of Bozeman and Gallatin County. The construction started in early March and has been moving at a rapid pace to prepare to light up its first residential customers this summer.Idaho Falls Fiber growth
Announced in 2019, UTOPIA Fiber's operational partnership with Idaho Falls Fiber, is progressing ahead of schedule. Idaho Falls Fiber is now the largest Open Access network in Idaho with approximately 3,000 residential and business customers being served.UTOPIA's push into Southern Utah and rural areas
The Open Access network will venture into new frontiers in the months ahead with engineering work beginning in Santa Clara, Utah, in the southwest corner of the state.Completion of UTOPIA's 11 original cities in 2022
After raising $52.5 million last year, UTOPIA Fiber has committed to fully building out its 11 original cities by the end 2022. Later this month, West Valley City, Utah's second-largest city (population 140,000) will be fully built-out with fiber.
The UTOPIA Fiber Model UTOPIA Fiber's Open Access model protects a free and open internet without throttling, paid prioritization, or other provider interference. Participating cities can also benefit from various smart city applications that are enabled by the UTOPIA Fiber network including an early wildfire detection system, fast public WiFi, air pollution monitoring services, and more.
Service maps, build-out timelines, and information on how to sign up for UTOPIA Fiber services are posted on UTOPIAfiber.com.
Watch the full press briefing here.
Utopia Fiber
