OREM, Utah, July 6, 2017 – The founder of the Broadband Breakfast Club, journalist and lawyer Drew Clark, announced his candidacy for city council here with a campaign seeking to tap into “Better Broadband, Better Lives.”
Orem is the fifth-largest city in Utah, home to Utah Valley University, and a sister city to Provo, the home of Brigham Young University. The two cities form the heart of the fast-growing Utah County, a launching for software, analytics and other technology companies.
Orem is also one of 11 cities that together form the Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency, an interlocal entity that provides wholesale service on an open-access broadband network. Although the cities vary in the degree of coverage, only one-third of Orem households have access to the broadband network.
Clark, who has lived in Orem for nearly four years, said that he moved to Orem to make use of the city's fiber-optic broadband network.
“Even though everyone now pays about $9 a month in taxes to support the network, only one-third of citizens have access,” Clark said on his campaign web site. “This is not acceptable.
“Orem has three options. (1) Do nothing. This means everyone pays, but only one-third benefits. (2) Ask the current infrastructure provider to build all of Orem, for a fee. (3) Put out a Request for Proposal, seeking a private company to finish our open access network. I support either option two or three. As a member of the Public Works Advisory Commission, I’ve been leading for consensus on the best approach.”
Learn more about how to participate in or donate to Clark’s campaign on his web site, or at his Drew Clark 4 Orem City Council Facebook page.
Editor’s Note: Drew Clark is the Editor and Publisher of BroadbandBreakfast.com, and the owner of Broadband Census LLC, but the company is not affiliated with the Drew Clark 4 Orem City Council campaign, or Drew Clark PLLC. BroadbandBreakfast.com welcomes addition suggestions for articles about other broadband-focused political campaigns.
