City of Decorah will go on record as opposing a telecommunications bill introduced to the Iowa Legislature

Posted: Tue, Feb 11, 2020 10:47 AM

The Iowa Legislature is being asked to reject a bill which would limit the ability of cities to finance municipal telecommunications systems. Decorah has been studying a municipal telecommunications system, with a referendum winning 92 percent support. A consultant warned, however, that Decorah's rocky soil would make the price of building such a system prohibitive.

Nevertheless, members of the city's Utilities Committee are expressing their opposition to Senate Study Bill 3009, which, among other provisions, would prohibit a loan from the general fund or another municipal utility, such as the electric department, to the municipal broadband network at an interest rate lower than the "prevailing market rate."

Currently, arrangements like this are allowed as long as the city is not supporting or subsidizing the network's ongoing operations. The bill also would prevent cities from bundling telecom services with other utilities and would remove municipal authority to offer market-based prices for Internet access, possibly raising subscriber costs.

A newsletter from the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities calls the bill "an attempt to limit municipal utilities formation only to markets Mediacom doesn't want to serve."

The legislation was introduced by Republican State Senator Dan Dawson of Council Bluffs and supported by Mediacom. The legislation was opposed by Verizon, the Cedar Falls Municipal Utility, and the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities.

The City of Decorah will soon be added to the opposition list, with the Utility Committee agreeing Monday night to work on a letter to send to state legislators urging the bill be killed.