Comments on: Response to an angry UTOPIA http://sutherlandinstitute.org/news/2012/09/19/response-to-an-angry-utopia/ News and views on Utah public policy Thu, 20 Jun 2013 03:31:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Bradley Ross http://sutherlandinstitute.org/news/2012/09/19/response-to-an-angry-utopia/#comment-1945 Bradley Ross Fri, 05 Oct 2012 03:08:00 +0000 http://www.sutherlandinstitute.org/news_old/?p=3843#comment-1945 “…its existence is justified as “infrastructure” – except broadband Internet service isn’t a “public good” and, hence, not infrastructure.”

I’d be interested to hear how you would differentiate between electric wiring as infrastructure and fiber optic wiring as infrastructure. Perhaps you could argue that the last few feet of the wire isn’t public infrastructure, but the rest seems to fit more snugly in that category.

I just spent $3000 to purchase a connection to UTOPIA for my home. I suppose Kaydell signed up for a long term lease rather than an outright purchase. Once the connection is installed to my home, I look forward to selecting from among the several commercial providers available to provide the internet equivalent of “dial tone” for my fiber connection.

Roads and utilities are natural monopolies because of the cost to build out the infrastructure. A government role seems entirely appropriate in this situation.

]]> By: Why Orem residents are right to fight UTOPIA tax sneakiness | Sutherland Daily http://sutherlandinstitute.org/news/2012/09/19/response-to-an-angry-utopia/#comment-1944 Why Orem residents are right to fight UTOPIA tax sneakiness | Sutherland Daily Thu, 04 Oct 2012 19:30:05 +0000 http://www.sutherlandinstitute.org/news_old/?p=3843#comment-1944 [...] Doug Robinson sums up perfectly why Orem residents are pushing back against new taxes to pay for UTOPIA. More than 5,000 Orem residents signed a petition to force a property-tax referendum in November [...]

]]> By: Kaydell Leavitt http://sutherlandinstitute.org/news/2012/09/19/response-to-an-angry-utopia/#comment-1943 Kaydell Leavitt Thu, 20 Sep 2012 11:45:00 +0000 http://www.sutherlandinstitute.org/news_old/?p=3843#comment-1943 Utopia required me to sign a 20 *year* contract. I don’t know why I was so foolish! The service is OK, but I’m locked in for 20 years. No wonder that more people aren’t signing up for UTOPIA. I wish that I would have upgraded from Century Link’s slow service to XFINITY which is faster and doesn’t require a 20 *year* contract!

]]> By: Utahlady http://sutherlandinstitute.org/news/2012/09/19/response-to-an-angry-utopia/#comment-1942 Utahlady Wed, 19 Sep 2012 22:08:00 +0000 http://www.sutherlandinstitute.org/news_old/?p=3843#comment-1942 The name Utopia itself is scary to most of us.

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