Article: https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2024/04/19/government-internet-service-bad-for-taxpayers/
On Fri, Apr 26, 2024 at 4:59 PM Chuck McCown via AF <af@af.afmug.com> wrote: > By John Dougall > > For the Deseret News > > Most Utahns probably agree that government should stick to essential > government services and stay out of enterprises that are better performed > by > the private sector. > > Yet, across the country and right here in Utah, more and more governments > are building government-owned internet networks, despite numerous > private-sector providers being available. > > The number of government-owned networks is increasing by the day, and > taxpayers, not users, are often footing the bill. Government-owned > broadband > networks cost millions of dollars and divert essential funding away from > services that really matter to the public — services such as police and > fire, roads, water and sewer. > > Two unfortunate examples of government-owned broadband networks right here > in Utah are iProvo and UTOPIA. > > In 2004, Provo launched iProvo to provide broadband internet services to > homes and business. Provo reportedly bonded for $36.5 million to bring > service to every home in the city and wrote off $5.4 million that the > city’s > telecommunications fund owed the Energy Department’s reserve fund to > finance > the costly deployment. After struggling to make the network viable, iProvo > was sold in 2008. But its buyer failed to fulfill the terms of the sale, > and > iProvo reverted back to the city. In 2013, in a desperate attempt to free > itself of the failed venture, the city ultimately sold iProvo to Google > for > $1. > > Similarly, UTOPIA (Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency) was > launched to provide broadband internet services to a consortium of cities. > But UTOPIA has failed to fulfill its promises for more than two decades > now. > The project, which started in 2002, was projected to be finished in three > to > four years. Fast forward to today, and it is still incomplete. Not only is > UTOPIA incomplete, but the project has racked up $300 million worth of > debt. > And despite iProvo’s example of failure, UTOPIA continues to expand. > > For years, UTOPIA consistently lost money, expecting taxpayers to cover > those losses. In addition to this, the government-owned network continues > to > expand and pull other cities into this trap. What’s more egregious is that > UTOPIA misrepresented its performance as it pitched cities on buying into > the expansion fever. For example, UTOPIA once claimed the network had “no > cost to taxpayers since 2009.” This statement was patently inaccurate. > > As your watchdog, I help you to hold your government accountable. My > office > investigated this and other claims, then we wrote a letter identifying > these > inaccurate statements. We instructed UTOPIA to do the following: > > •Discard or destroy marketing materials with misleading statements. > > • Ensure future communications more accurately reflect the dependence on > taxpayer support. > > •Take steps to remedy the misrepresentations regarding the lack of > taxpayer > support to any individual or entity that received the inaccurate > information. > > UTOPIA’s shortcomings do not stop there, however. Rather than providing > internet access to the more than 40,000 homes and small businesses that > lack > internet access today, UTOPIA, like other government-owned networks, > builds > redundant networks that compete with existing private providers, many who > are also regulated by the cities in which they operate. > > Unfortunately, iProvo and UTOPIA are no different from other > government-owned fiber networks across the country, which fail financially > about 90% of the time. > > When taxpayer money is being diverted from critical services into pet > broadband projects, that money is not going where it is needed most. > Taxpayers expect government to maintain roads, provide safe drinking water > and keep their communities safe. Money spent propping up broadband > services > costs taxpayers money, encumbered by decades of debt, and deprives them of > important and sufficient government services they want and deserve. Plus, > higher taxes burden families, many of whom are struggling today just to > provide for themselves. > > Government-owned broadband has done enough harm to taxpayers. iProvo and > UTOPIA should be seen as an example for policymakers of what to avoid. > Public officials across the country, and especially here in Utah, should > resist the appealing allure of expanding or deploying government-owned > networks, which allure has been shown to be deceptive, and ultimately > destructive, to taxpayers. > > John Dougall is the Utah State Auditor and is a candidate for Utah’s 3rd > congressional district. > > > > -- > AF mailing list > AF@af.afmug.com > http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >
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