BY BROOKE RIEDER
iProvo. The name is plastered across the news headlines and smeared across the city budget. While a majority of Provo residents have heard the name, not all know what it is.
iProvo is an advanced telecommunications network owned by Provo City’s Energy Department. iProvo provides services such as telephone, cable and Internet through a technologically advanced fiber-optic network.
The infrastructure is leased to private, local companies, like Mstar and Veracity, who provide phone, Internet and cable to residents of Provo.
The advanced fiber-optic network does more for Provo than just provide a fast Internet connection. The technology is used to benefit the city in ways that range from high-speed communication to synchronization of traffic lights.
But iProvo is not without its critics, many of whom would say that the city continues to dump money into a failing project. Many in opposition cite iProvo’s failure to break even and start generating profits.
While iProvo had trial subscribers previous to January 2005, the date marked the beginning of paid subscriptions to the network.
By July 2005, however, iProvo’s future looked grim, with 1,759 subscribers. A year later, iProvo had increased to 6,691 subscribers.
Now, iProvo is nearing 10,000 subscribers – the estimated number needed to break even and begin making a profit on the network.
Bruce Riddle, Provo City Energy Department business manager said he predicts iProvo will continue to grow steadily, although not at the same speed it has in the past.
This is due to the high volume of additions from student apartment complexes, which account for large amounts of subscriptions, Riddle said.
“I don’t know realistically how many more of them we can add,” he said. “So growth will slow down, but we hope to see it on the single family residential side.”
, Provo residents should recognize that supporting iProvo is the best way to improve their community, said Paul Venturella, a private telecommunications consultant and former iProvo Network Manager.
Venturella said Provo residents need to consider where they want their money to go. When Provo residents subscribe to Comcast, their profits go back to Philadelphia, and with Quest, profits go to Denver.
When subscribers choose iProvo, the profits stay in Provo and support local companies and the city, Venturella says.
“Companies that operate on iProvo network are local companies,” he said. “Their owners are Provo people. That money stays in the community and circulates around and around. Each dollar spent locally is a multiplier factor.”
He says that when Provo business owners pay employees with the revenues from Provo residents, that money circulates through the economy more than once, and benefits everyone.
Riddle agrees that other providers have been iProvo’s greatest obstacles to generating revenues.
“It’s a very competitive market,” Riddle said. “These are smaller, local companies competing with national giants like Quest and Comcast, so of course it would be difficult for anyone.”
Venturella said he is optimistic about iProvo’s ability to compete with energy giants, and the benefits that the city will see as a result.
“When looked at 20 years from now, they will say it was a wonderful thing the day we brought fiber to Provo,” Venturella said.
Editor’s Note: This article was edited from its original version to correct factual errors.
