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Keystone Solutions pitches federally funded fiber build to Uintah council
Summary
A presenter for Keystone Solutions outlined a federally backed fiber project estimated at roughly $1.5'$3 million, proposed residential service around $50'$60/month, and requested municipal support (letters/recommendations) to access state and federal grant funds.
The Uintah City Council heard a presentation from a Keystone Solutions representative proposing a municipally partnered fiber build using available federal and state broadband funds. The presenter said the state had received large federal allocations and that Keystone would partner to provide a portion of the infrastructure investment.
Keystone's representative described a phased approach, starting in higher-density commercial nodes and extending to residential areas, and gave a rough project-cost range. "So the total project cost would be right at the end in order to 1.5 and $3,000,000," the presenter said, framing that number as approximate. He said telehealth and remote-work reliability were key local benefits and that municipal letters of recommendation would help secure grant funding.
On pricing, the presenter said residential plans could start in the low $50s per month and that the federal program's low-income cap was listed at $60 but Keystone expected to offer rates below that. "We would start at anywhere from 50 to $55 a month," the presenter said. He added commercial rates would be higher and described negotiation and competition with incumbents such as Comcast.
Council members asked about technical resilience, railroad easements and installation costs. The presenter said fiber has long operational life and can be protected with battery backups and in-ground loops; "Lifespan of fiber is now there's a lot to 50 in a 100 years, sometimes more," he said, citing examples of 1980s installations still functioning. He described microtrenching and other techniques to limit costly lateral boring and explained Keystone's customer-service model: "They just call our number and we answer."
Next steps raised by the presenter and council included the city providing letters of support and exploring the grant application process. The presenter said Keystone would follow up with additional cost worksheets and implementation details if the council wishes to pursue the opportunity.
