Study of fiber Internet utility in Decorah will continue

Members of Decorah's Telecommunications Utility Board Monday night told Decorah City Council members they want to continue studying a proposal for a city-owned utility that could provide Internet, video and telephone services.

The recommendation by the board comes following a feasibility study that said such a utility was not feasible.  But board chair Jarrad Walter says the result of the study should be summarized as "not yet" Instead of "no."  He told city council members his board would like to reexamine the assumptions made in the feasibility study.

The board would also like to meet with other players in the communications field.  "We believe the more we talk with other communities, the better idea we'll get of what it could look like in our community," he told the city council.

The Telecommunications Utility Board took a step in that direction earlier on Monday, meeting with Osage Municipal Utilities general manager Josh Byrnes, who was in town to speak to the Decorah Power group.