Provo city has championed the installation of a city-wide fiber-optic network for Internet, TV, telephone, and whatever other services they can think to run over it. The system is almost completely deployed and early projections seem to show the city failing to meet revenue projections. But there is a lot of positive 'buzz' about the project on the Internet, across the country, as people would like to see similar projects attempted in their cities.
I'd like to study the Internet PR effect this venture has had on Provo. For typical, business-related searches, for instance, does Provo come up more often because of iProvo and the related publicity? Are more new businesses coming to Provo? What about home-buyers? Anyone possibly swayed by positive or negative coverage of the project?
I know I'm excited to have broadband! But I'm in the second to last zone receiving the system. Boo.
What other benefits might Provo be receiving as an early entrant into the civic-broadband space? How is the Internet responding to Provo's efforts to become an ISP? (Yeah, I know they're not *technically* an ISP...)