MAY 7, 2009 -- The Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA; search Lightwave for UTOPIA), Utah's municipal fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) network, has connected its first customer to a 100-Mbps service. UTOPIA claims the customer, in Layton, UT, is the first to connect his home to a symmetrical, non-shared 100-Mbps fiber-optic Internet connection in the United States. His Internet service is provided over the UTOPIA network by Idaho-based FuzeCore, one of the service providers on the network.
UTOPIA says the connection is available -- and affordable -- because of its FTTP infrastructure and open-network model. The UTOPIA network, owned by a group of 16 Utah cities, provides physical fiber-optic infrastructure directly to customers' homes. Private-sector companies use the network to provide Internet, phone, video, and a variety of other broadband services to business and residential customers. UTOPIA's open access model is designed to give customers the freedom to choose from among multiple service providers, who are in direct competition for customers on the network.
"We are changing the telecoms landscape, and these new possibilities are delivered right to the door of Utah residents," says Todd Marriott, UTOPIA's executive director. "This customer's connection means he can download a standard, high-definition movie in just over five minutes -- and that's just the beginning of what this technology can do for people. Telemedicine, distance learning, and other quality-of-life opportunities are becoming more than just empty promises."
"We're thrilled to be leading out in this exciting technology," says Tim McClanahan, FuzeCore's CEO. "Our customers have caught the vision of the dedicated fiber-to-the-home connection, and we're happy to be able to offer such high-quality services. These kinds of connections will literally change the way the world does things, and it's exciting to explore those possibilities with our customers and improve their quality of life."
FuzeCore's 100-Mbps service is available for $147.00 a month, and offers a dedicated 100-Mbps downstream and 100-Mbps upstream.
While FuzeCore's 100-Mbps symmetrical Internet service sets a bandwidth benchmark, UTOPIA says it has already begun testing the first gigabit-per-second connection in the residential market, which means that current connection speeds won't be in the lead for long.
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