On this episode, we hear from Roger Timmerman, CEO of UTOPIA Fiber, an open access municipal fiber network in the state of Utah, formed by a group of 11 cities in 2004. (UTOPIA stands for Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency.)As an open access network, UTOPIA provides fiber and infrastructure, but not service. Instead, customers can choose from a variety of participating local providers, including Rise Broadband, Veracity Networks, Fibernet and others.We discuss why these cities chose the municipal open access model, how it works and why it works. And we get into the ongoing debate around federal support for municipal networks, and what other municipalities should be prepared for as they embark on building out broadband.

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