Residential fiber network planned for Decorah

By Denise Lana,

The Decorah City Council and city staff met with Michael Maloney, vice president of D.A. Davidson & Co, whose work includes providing financing solutions and complex analyses to municipal electric utilities and start-up fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) providers.  

Currently, Decorah is home to a fiber ring with Metronet, but it is only available to Luther College, city and county offices, Decorah Schools and WinnMed. During the meeting, Maloney detailed a FTTP plan to expand fiber to reach all businesses and residential properties. Using revenue from Municipal Broadband Utility, this fiber plan could be in place by the end of the year, giving residents access to significantly higher and more reliable internet and phone speeds and service. 

The next step in the process is city staff finalizing documents for bids for the project, as well as finalizing contracts and legal requirements. An in-depth story covering the FTTP will run in the Public Opinion in early August. 

Submit A Comment

Fill out the form to submit a comment. All comments require approval by our staff before it is displayed on the website.

Subscribe
Notify of
1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
bob krzyzanowski
Guest
1 year ago

Who will maintain such a network? The cable companies have economic reasons for maintenance.
If the city takes responsibility, will it look like our broken up roads? No thanks on that option.