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Local internet provider outlines fiber, fixed‑wireless and grant plan to Daggett County commissioners
Summary
A company presenter told the Daggett County Commission the firm is pursuing fiber‑to‑the‑premises in town and fixed‑wireless and 5G upgrades elsewhere; costs, supply issues and seasonal customers ("snowbirds") affect deployment and take rates.
An unidentified company presenter (Speaker 1) described technical and economic limits to expanding broadband in remote parts of Daggett County, saying network capacity falls from a gigabit backbone to a few hundred megabits by the time radio links reach places such as Browns Park.
The presenter said the company is pursuing fiber‑to‑the‑premises (FTTP) where grants and economics allow and will use fixed wireless and emerging 5G in line‑of‑sight locations to deliver near‑fiber speeds without the cost of running fiber to every home. "We may start out with a gig radio, but by the time it hits Browns Park, we're down to just a couple hundred meg," the presenter said, explaining that long wireless hops or satellite backhaul constrains capacity.
Why it matters: Commissioners and residents weighing broadband options must balance the higher per‑foot cost of in‑town fiber (microtrenching and boring) against the relative efficiency of middle‑mile plowing and fixed‑wireless upgrades in sparsely populated areas. The presenter said the electronics they install on fiber can support up to 2 Gbps symmetrical, while fixed wireless tests show downlink speeds up to 500 Mbps and uplink to about 200 Mbps at seven to eight miles under good line‑of‑sight conditions.
Commissioners and attendees raised customer adoption and marketing questions. Speaker 6 said return on uptake has varied by community — "Last time we moved, it was about 27% market share" in one market, while areas like Saratoga have seen roughly 65% penetration, the presenter added. Participants discussed seasonal or "snowbird" second‑home customers and suggested seasonal pricing or an "on/off" switch for short‑term visitors to preserve security systems without incurring full monthly data charges.
Speakers also flagged cost pressures. The presenter said steel remains roughly 15% above pre‑COVID levels and lumber prices remain elevated, increasing construction expenses even as some materials (duct, plastic, glass) have eased. The company described a multi‑state mobile network replacement project that originally had congressional funding on the order of $750 million and now approaches roughly $1 billion in current estimates.
The company offered continued outreach and local engagement: they plan to participate in Daggett Days and rodeo events, provide vendor materials, and said a new local clinic will have a conference room that can seat about 100–110 people for outreach or informational meetings.
The commission did not take formal action on broadband during the presentation; the discussion focused on technical tradeoffs, grant prospects and outreach to increase customer adoption.
