Bountiful City reports early success for citywide fiber utility; take rates outpace projections

Bountiful City Manager Gary Hill told the City Council at a Sept. 23 work session that the city’s new fiber utility has completed its construction footprints and is entering its first full year of operation.

Hill said the project has 10 footprints across the city with about 1,300,000 feet of fiber installed and that the city will hold a ribbon-cutting and “light the Bountiful” event tied to the farmers market the day after the meeting. He said the installation used directional boring and hand digging and that the visible impact in park strips is now minimal.

The update included subscriber metrics and financial milestones. Hill said the city had expected a negligible take rate in the project’s first year; actual take through the end of the fiscal year was 6.2 percent, above the 5 percent projection. For the current year staff projected a 12 percent take rate; after July and August the utility’s recorded take rate was 9.1 percent, with an average of about 230 new customers per month. Council materials show a range of future projections: 30 percent in 2027, 35 percent in 2028, 37 percent in 2029 and 40 percent in 2030. Hill said the project’s break-even take rate is “right around that 35% number.”

A resident who described herself as a neighbor in one of the first installation areas told the council the neighborhood’s post‑installation experience has been positive. “It’s been fantastic,” the resident said, describing prompt repairs to landscaping and sprinkler lines after early winter work.

City staff and contractors also described outreach plans for private subdivisions. Hill said the next phase includes systematically contacting homeowners associations that manage private roads where the city lacks easements to request agreements allowing fiber placement on those streets. He said there is no cost to HOAs to sign such an agreement and that Utopia’s service already has been paid for by the city; signing an agreement does not obligate residents to subscribe.

Hill noted that the project brought some early customer conversions from existing commercial Utopia accounts and that staff will continue coordinated marketing with Utopia while also using city social channels and targeted HOA outreach.

The council praised resident advocacy and long-term planning that led to the utility’s launch. No formal action was taken during the work session; staff said they would continue operational monitoring and outreach.

Ending: Council members and staff encouraged residents to attend the planned ribbon-cutting and to contact the city recorder with questions about HOA agreements and service availability.