Technology

Broadband deployment in Utah could create about 8,600 new jobs in the telecommunications sector and related businesses and spark $3.12 billion in economic output, according to a study released Tuesday by a consumer advocacy group.

With venture capital investments falling 52 percent between 2001 and 2002, and Utah losing 6,200 high-tech jobs in 2002, a revitalized telecom sector could create about 5,000 jobs and another 3,600 jobs in related industries, said Wayne Brough, chief economist and author of the study by Washington, D.C.-based Citizens for a Sound Economy.