Nice effort to promote your film. I approved your comment because the reverse psychology you’re using amuses me.

If this isn’t a clever publicity stunt than Betty…you are failing miserably at what you are trying to do. Please go away.

On behalf of myself and my husband, and our Mormon friends,
I would like to make sure that young people are NOT subjected to this terrible conception of true faith.

please let me know if you are able to help.

regards, Betty Toms

It would be a shame if opponents succeed in defining UTOPIA as a waste, unnecessary or “unfair” competition with the private sector (i.e. telecoms).

I also loved Jesse’s post. I’ve been lurking on both of his blogs and am slowly converting to the cause. I wasn’t ever against it…more of a telecommunications agnostic who had heard bad things about i-Provo, had tried every internet service available in Provo as a student, and hated Qwest and Comcast. I’m now in Orem and love my internet via UTOPIA.

I have two concerns though. First, how long is it going to take for the competition to drive down prices? Or are there any quality companies out there? I’m with Veracity and they’re OK. They have had some reliability issues, but improved over the past year. I don’t feel I’m getting a smash-up deal for my phone and internet. Their customer service and options are mediocre, which is to say they’re better than Comcast and vast light years better than Qwest. I have heard many complaints about M-Star’s reliability, and the other options, X-mission, and some other company don’t seem to have better prices or service. M-Star is the only one of the bunch that competes with Qwest and Comcast on a triple play option, and the price is a wash. We want to get some TV for this summer and fall: Olympics, election, and football season, and right now I’m leaning towards going back to Comcast…shudder.

Second, I think Rep. Urquhart’s concerns about “cherry picking” seem valid. Is it actually not possible for a service to make profits without focusing on richer neighborhoods? Is UTOPIA in trouble financially or not? I’m becoming more convinced that the infrastructure would be worth an investment of public funds, but still want an honest picture of the challenges facing the project.

Check out Jesse’s site for a good synopsis of the mess mentioned. Considering the history of telecom in our country anyone who argues that UTOPIA is worse government involvement than what we already have isn’t arguing from a position of strength.

What is the current mess you write of in the second paragraph?