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Randall Jeppesen and AP reporting Provo's fiber-optic telecommunications network lost $214,000 in the quarter ending in October -- and that doesn't count a city subsidy intended to get the system off the ground.
Councilman George Stewart, who has spoken against the system, says the future projections aren't encouraging. "The model didn't work. The model said that we could, in fact, run this at a profit. It just hasn't been," he said.
The city is spending $100,000 a month on a network that delivers digital television, Internet and phone service to 10,236 households.
Mayor Lewis Billings has hired two consultants to review the network's future while the city looks for a new manager.
Officials say the iProvo network is gaining only 20 subscribers a month because of a high cancellation rate -- about 120 residences a month are quitting the network, while 140 are signing up.
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Information from: Deseret Morning News
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)