Lehi Business
Lehi’s City-wide fiber network hits one-year anniversary
Jennifer Thomas | Lehi Free Press
Lehi officially completed its city-owned, open-access fiber optic network in August 2025, marking a major milestone for the community after a year of work.
The extensive infrastructure project, built and operated in a public-private partnership with Strata Networks, concluded its main physical rollout over the winter, stringing more than 400 miles of fiber and spanning up to 2.1 million feet of cable. The network successfully brings next-generation connectivity and multi-gigabit speeds up to 10-Gig to approximately 23,000 homes and businesses across the city.
While engineering and construction milestones have been celebrated as a technical success, local attention has shifted toward consumer adoption rates and the network’s long-term financial viability.
According to recent data confirmed by Shaye Ruitenbeek, Lehi City Fiber Manager, the Lehi Fiber network has crossed a threshold of over “7,000 active subscribers, representing an approximate take rate of 30%” across completed zones.
“We are tracking as expected,” said Ruitenbeek. “While take rate is one way to measure adoption, the number of subscribers is a more meaningful measure of progress toward the network’s financial goals.”
This marks a steady climb from earlier in the rollout, when adoption lingered around 23% to 24%. However, the project still faces a gap before it can be deemed a total financial triumph. To reach a true “break-even” point and comfortably cover its financial obligations without relying on backup city funds, officials say the network needs roughly 10,500 subscribers, or an estimated 38% take rate.
“Lehi continues to grow, which means the total number of locations passed by the network also continues to increase, while the bond amount used to build the network remains fixed. From that perspective, subscriber growth is the metric we are focused on, and we are tracking as anticipated,” said Ruitenbeek.
Lehi City originally forecasted that reaching this 38% break-even mark would take roughly three to four years post-construction. With construction complete, the clock is now ticking for the open-access system to capture the remaining eight percent of local market share.
While municipal networks nationwide often face skepticism about technical deployment, consumer sentiment in Lehi is positive. According to a recent survey of customers, the Lehi Fiber Network earned a “Net Promoter Score of 56.04, nearly double the industry average – showing just how much residents appreciate the reliability, speed, and freedom of choice the network provides.”
Ruitenbeek stated, “customer satisfaction has been strong. Lehi Fiber’s six-month Net Promoter Score is approximately 43, which is considered an excellent score and reflects a high level of customer satisfaction with the service.”
The foundation of the network’s high satisfaction is its open-access architecture. Because Lehi City owns the physical glass lines, it eliminates traditional corporate monopolies. Instead, five independent internet service providers (ISPs) compete for residents’ business over the same infrastructure.
“Lehi Fiber’s open-access model allows multiple internet service providers to compete on the same City-owned network. Each ISP offers different service options, speeds, and pricing, giving residents the ability to choose the provider and service that best meets their needs,” said Ruitenbeek.
Multiple providers directly benefit the consumer, keeping rates highly affordable.
“Having multiple providers creates competition both among the ISPs using the Lehi Fiber Network and with other broadband providers serving the community,” said Ruitenbeek. “Competition gives consumers more choices and helps put downward pressure on pricing.”
Residents can shop and custom-tailor their plans from official network partners at: https://www.lehi-ut.gov/departments/lehi-fiber/.
While the City owns the infrastructure, Strata Networks will continue to operate and maintain the network to provide reliable, high-quality service for residents,” said Ruitenbeek.
Lehi City-owned property is used as a staging area for Lehi Fiber Network. Strata occupied the premises under a Lease-Purchase Agreement; however, it later elected not to complete the purchase.
“The original plan anticipated the property would be purchased, with payments addressed at the time of sale. When the sale did not move forward, the lease payments were collected,” said Ruitenbeek. “The agreement with Strata remains in place, lease payments are current, and all outstanding amounts have been received.”
Lehi City plans to keep expanding the fiber infrastructure as new neighborhoods and commercial developments are built.
“Lehi Fiber continues to expand into new residential and commercial developments throughout the City as Lehi grows. New developments are generally incorporated into the network unless they are subject to exclusive agreements with another provider,” said Ruitenbeek.
Lehi’s Strata network features a forward-looking design that allows new developments to connect to the city’s existing fiber infrastructure as the community grows.
“Future growth was incorporated into the original design and planning of the network, allowing new developments to be integrated into the existing citywide footprint as Lehi continues to grow,” said Ruitenbeek. “Similar to other City utilities, developers are responsible for providing the pathways within new developments to accommodate utility services.”
Long-term financial models require an uptake of approximately 10,500 total subscribers for the system to sustain operations and fully cover bond obligations through revenues. A progress timeline for a self-sustaining network, along with an updated financial and operational overview, will be ready next month according to Ruitenbeek.
“The City is currently preparing an updated financial and operational overview of the network and plans to provide an update to the City Council during an October Work Session. That update will include additional information regarding the network’s progress toward long-term financial sustainability,” said Ruitenbeek.
Lehi Fiber has become a cornerstone community asset, delivering high-speed internet access to residents and businesses while maintaining excellent customer service.
“Lehi Fiber has been successful and has become a valuable benefit to the community,” said Ruitenbeek. “The network gives residents and businesses access to high-speed fiber and multiple local choices for internet service through its open-access model.”
“As Lehi continues to grow, the network is positioned to grow with the community and provide long-term infrastructure that supports residents, businesses, and future development,” concluded Ruitenbeek.
