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Union Telephone outlines fiber upgrades, BEAD/replace work and new 5G‑ready network for Daggett County
Summary
Union Telephone representatives briefed the commission on efforts to secure middle‑mile BEAD funding for Dutch John, options to cross the gorge, replacement of legacy equipment and a new 5G‑ready network that went live in late February.
A Union Telephone representative said the company is pursuing a BEAD (broadband equity) application for Dutch John that would include middle‑mile fiber to bring high‑capacity service into the town and that the firm is weighing route options from Rock Springs along Highway 191 or a shorter but more permitting‑intensive crossing near the narrows.
“We are going after a BEAD grant for Dutch John, and that would include the middle mile to get fiber to Dutch John,” the representative said. The company said it had discussed attaching fiber to a pipeline bridge but that the pipeline owner declined to permit attachments; the representative said the pipeline operator does not see sufficient data‑traffic value from Clay Basin to justify fiber attachments.
Union Telephone also described a federally supported replacement of equipment after the company retired earlier gear that contained banned Chinese vendors’ components. “We turned up our new network in Daggett County… it went live February 24,” the representative said. Company staff described the new network as 5G‑ready and built to support substantially more concurrent users and higher data speeds than the legacy system.
The company said it has explored leasing or buying capacity from other local providers but found those options cost‑prohibitive in some cases; it also noted ongoing vendor work to replace and decommission the old network and to bring the new tower and gear online. The presentation included a map of planned home‑Internet coverage on the county’s east side and noted service limitations in more remote map areas driven by program‑mapping rules.
Commission members asked about coordination with Strata and with AT&T for backhaul and interconnection. The Union Telephone representative said the company maintains vendor relationships with AT&T and that past congestion issues should ease when the old network is fully shut down and the new, higher‑capacity system is in service.
