UTOPIA is a network based in Utah and connects 16 diverse cities in the state that would otherwise be underserved by broadband, cable, and telecom providers. UTOPIA Net does not just stop there, it actually has taken on the challenge of building a world-class fiber optic network to serve consumers who live in a geographically challenging area. After all, who would want to be laying cable in the ruggedly beautiful mountains and passes of Utah if there were any other jobs available? This kind of dedication costs money, and UTOPIA Net has funneled a lot of money into making their network one that is second to none.
Fiber Frees the Masses
In most cases, large companies that offer broadband, digital cable, and/or telecom services know that they have customers in small towns in what amounts to a monopoly. This means that they are only checked by the local and state government when it comes to pricing, and it would not be unfair to suggest that most politicians know the difference between pandering to the public and putting enough money in the re-election war chest to fight big companies.
A medium sized firm like UTOPIA NET has completely changed these dynamics in most areas, by used fiber optics, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), and advanced IPTV technology to deliver a big-city class entertainment and communication experience to areas that are anything but densely populated. Dense population and higher per capita income is what makes major cities so attractive to major carriers, so it is surprising to see UTOPIA Net so heavily invested in bringing these technologies and services to what amounts of sparsely populated regions.
Sharing is Good
UTOPIA Net began as a cooperative between many smaller providers who were all offering fiber optic services. Over time, that collective evolved into a more coherent force with greater bargaining power. This bargaining power is the basis for the acquisition of Utopia’s strongest assets, and what enables it to have enough volume to even be considered by networks for licenses. After all, providers of digital cable programming do not want to deal with small cable providers with only a few thousand sales leads, and when they do, it is rarely to the advantage of those small cable providers and their customers. By combining forces, the constituent components of UTOPIA Net have managed to present a much stronger collective that has far more bargaining power.
The results are clear: UTOPIA Net’s customers have affordable access to hundreds of channels including some of the latest and greatest HD content, which was something unheard of even in big cities only a few years ago. Just how affordable and how many channels will vary slightly depending upon where one lives in UTOPIA Net’s coverage, but the simple fact is that sharing is good.
Sharing is Bad Too…
Sharing can also be a bad thing, especially when it comes to sharing bandwidth. Unlike DSL and cable modem systems, all customers of UTOPIA Net receive their own dedicated bandwidth that is completely independent of what their neighbors are doing. No more slow-downs when everyone gets home and starts downloading files, uploading pictures, and watching YouTube videos. Everyone’s bandwidth is 100% protected to their local node, and each node has more than enough bandwidth to serve entire cities; most nodes on the UTOPIA Net are 10 Gbps components, which actually makes them faster than current home and small/medium office networking technology. The fastest internet connections available in most regions certainly high this problem, unless they are fiber optic in nature and well planned out. Luckily, UTOPIA Net’s offerings are both.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is that UTOPIA Net offers a lot of interesting services at prices that keep the major players in many of Utah’s sparsely populated regions at least somewhat close to honest. This is not UTOPIA Net’s only appeal, but it is one that virtually anyone living in the areas serviced by a UTOPIA Net provider can appreciate on their monthly bill. Property owners may be able to charge higher rent and/or close a real estate transaction at a higher price when fiber optics are available, and there are countless other possibilities enabled by a provider-agnostic network such as UTOPIA’s network.
