TDS counters Santa Clara fiber-optic network with one of its own

Stock photo. | Photo by kynny/iStock/Getty Images Plus, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — In what appears to be a response to Santa Clara entering a public-private partnership to have a fiber-optic, high-speed internet connection to every address in the city, telecommunications provider TDS recently announced it will be expanding its own fiber-optic network to most customers in the city. 

TDS’ Justin Hearing completes splicing fiber for a new fiber-to-the-home area, location and date not specified | Photo courtesy of TDS, St. George News

TDS, which stands for Telephone and Data Systems, said it plans to begin construction in the coming months on bringing high-speed, fiber optic connections to 2,500 addresses in Santa Clara. With 2,407 households in Santa Clara according to the U.S. Census, that number should cover most, if not all, of the addresses in the city. 

“Our network will provide Santa Clara residents with the tools to enable their homes for the future,” Andrew Petersen, TDS senior vice president of corporate affairs, said in a statement.  

UTOPIA Fiber is funding and building an under-construction fiber-optic network to every address in the city. The city of Santa Clara is providing backup funding for any shortfalls to UTOPIA Fiber’s bond, though the infrastructure agency that oversees UTOPIA  has said it expects subscription fees of users to ultimately make siuch a bond unneeded. 

During the Nov. 10 hearing when the Santa Clara City Council approved the UTOPIA network for the city, Peterson issued another statement to the council asking for the UTOPIA plan to be rejected and to give TDS a chance to provide 1 Gbps service to households in the city. However, city officials noted at the time that in previous meetings TDS would not provide a timetable for such a network. 

UTOPIA has also made overtures to other local cities for partnership, including making a presentation before the Ivins City Council on June 2.

TDS says its network to 2,500 Santa Clara households will provide 2 Gbps of speed, or 2,000 Mbps and speeds for business up to 10 Gbps. UTOPIA said it is providing up to 10 Gbps for residential and business. 

In an undated photo from the spring of 2021, UTOPIA Fiber crews lay out conduit fiber cables in an neighborhood | Photo by Lynda Shenkman/UTOPIA Fiber, St. George News

UTOPIA and Santa Clara are building their fiber-optic network but not providing the actual service, allowing internet service providers to lease the lines similar to how a city builds airport infrastructure and leases terminals to airlines. Santa Clara officials said with multiple providers, this would boost competition and provoke other providers to improve their networks, while increasing service and reducing cost to the consumer. 

TDS will fund, own and entirely operate its network.

The pricing of internet for internet service providers using UTOPIA lines established in other Utah cities ranges from around $72 per month for 250 Mbps to $85 for 1 Gbps to a maximum of $285 monthly for 10 Gbps service. Those prices include a flat $30-per-month fee that goes to UTOPIA instead of the internet service provider. UTOPIA also offers the ability to cancel or change internet service providers at any time. 

While TDS has not announced pricing for the new fiber lines in Santa Clara, according to its website, its current pricing is $39.95 per month with a one-year agreement for 300 Mbps and $74.95 per month with a two-year agreement for 1 Gbps.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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