Metronet Board decides to purchase larger fiber optic cables

The Metronet Board has voted to purchase 144-strand fiber optic cable for the network that will link governmental offices around Decorah.

The board has decided that instead of buying the 72-strand cable, buying the 144-strand cable would provide more room for future expansion of the network. Metronet Board member Kurt De Vore--the Decorah School District's Technology Director--says the greatest costs in developing a fiber optic cable network come from digging trenches for the cable or stringing the cable above ground--not from the actual cable itself.  Spending a little more money now could save Metronet a lot more money in te future if it wanted to expand, he says.