Community fiber optic Internet network is on hold for now

Members of the Decorah Communications Utility Board have approved a resolution which states, "We believe a (community-owned) fiber optic network is not feasible at this time."

Their conclusion was reached after a second consulting firm cast doubt on the financial profitability of such a network.  There were several reasons cited by the consultant.  First of all, Decorah's rocky ground means it would be more expensive to dig trenches for the fiber optic cable.  Second of all, other communities such as Cedar Falls, Waverly and Osage which have community broadband networks also have a municipal electric utility to share the costs of labor and laying cable--and Decorah's referendum on creating a municipal electric utility narrowly lost approval in a referendum last year.

The consultant's conclusion was that a Decorah municipal utility would need a larger base of customers--around 3,000 homes--than the 2,500 households currently in the area.  It would also need a high percentage of residents to switch to the municipal utility.

Members of the Communications Utility Board will give a more detailed report on their research at one of the two March meetings of the Decorah City Council.