Utah Broadband Project

OVERVIEW

The Utah Broadband Project is a joint effort between the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Department of Technology Services’ Utah Automated Geographic Reference Center (AGRC), that is responsible for mapping broadband service availability and developing a plan to increase broadband adoption and deployment in the state The project works with stakeholders to identify critical unserved or underserved areas and populations

The Utah Broadband Advisory Council

Formed in June 2011, the Utah Broadband Advisory Council meets regularly to examine the condition of broadband adoption and deployment in the State of Utah and provides the Governor and Legislature with recommendations and policy guidance Members of the Council represent a diverse group of interests including economic development, state and local government, healthcare, education, libraries, transportation, public safety and tribal entities

Going forward, the Council will engage in targeted approaches to aggregate demand for broadband deployment and extend resources to improve broadband use and accessibility across the state

The Utah Broadband Project hired a contractor to drive more than 6,000 miles of state roads in order to test mobile broadband coverage.

Regional Broadband Planning Council Initiative

The Utah Broadband Project recently completed a Regional Broadband Planning Council Initiative in partnership with Utah’s Associations of Governments (AOG) The Regional Broadband Planning Councils included participants from cities, counties, broadband providers, libraries, healthcare institutions, Native American tribes, businesses and educational institutions Copies of these plans can be found at broadband utah gov/resources/regional-planning

The Utah Broadband Map

The Utah Broadband Project works with providers throughout the state to collect data on the availability, speed, technology and coverage areas for residential and some commercial broadband services This information is then housed on both the Utah Broadband Map and the National Broadband Map The data collected has been vital in identifying underserved broadband areas, supporting planning and policy efforts, and helping stakeholders make decisions to more effectively use broadband across various sectors The Utah Broadband Map can be accessed at broadband utah gov/map

Mobile Broadband Drive Test

In the past year, the Utah Broadband Project contracted with Isotrope LLC, to perform a drive test to assess wireless broadband services and capabilities throughout the state The research team collected real-time mobile broadband wireless coverage and speed information as they travelled more than 6,000 miles of Utah’s major roadways A report of these findings will be posted to the Utah Broadband Project website in the fall of 2014

Utah Broadband Accolades

Akamai’s First Quarter 2014 State of the Internet report sited Utah as the second fastest average Internet connection speed in the West Utah was ranked No. 8 overall. Utah’s average speeds increased 17% in 2013.

In August 2014, Governing Magazine ranked Utah the most MobileFriendly Government because of the number of government services available on mobile devices

For additional information about the Utah Broadband Project, visit broadband.utah.gov or contact Project Manager Kelleigh Cole at kcole@utah.gov or 801-538-8831.