Utah in midst of broadband bonanza

Who needs a national broadband plan? Not Utah. Qwest, Comcast, wireless providers and "dozens of smaller competitors" that include most of the state's 14 rural telephone companies are in fierce competition to deliver broadband services driven by demand for streaming video like Netflix and Hulu, live online conferencing and business-to-business data transmissions.

Multiple carriers are throwing big bucks into the market which, until a few years ago, suffered speeds that were so slow it caused 11 cities to band together and form the Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency (Utopia). That group has pledged millions to back bonds for the development of a fiber optic network in their communities but only about 13,000 have signed on in limited areas.

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