Commentary

More Money Problems at iProvo

The Utah state auditor’s office has opened an investigation into iProvo’s finances after receiving a tip that the municipal broadband operation was owed nearly $1 million from its retail partners. iProvo is a fiber-to-the-home network owned and operated by Provo’s city electric department. Retail sales of phone, cable TV and high-speed Internet service are handled by three local companiesââ?¬â??Veracity Communications, MStar and Nuvont Communications. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Veracity and Nuvont denied being in arrears. MStar officials, however, did not return calls from the reporter. This would not mark the first time iProvo had trouble with a retail partner. Its first year of business was hampered by poor performance of HomeNet, which ultimately went out of business. The retailer woes are only the latest for iProvo. In December, the operation reported that it was $614,000 in the red for the first four months of its fiscal year, which began July 1. That comes on top of several million in losses since its launch in 2005. See coverage here and here.