Supervisors table fiber study request by MCDC

The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors is considering a funding request for a fiber study.

Montgomery County Development Corporation director Shawnna Silvius, along with Fiber Committee Chairman Joey Norris discussed the proposal for fiber exchange consulting and a market research/feasibility study between SmartSource Consulting and MCDC. They are seeking 50 percent of funding from the county and 50 percent from the City of Red Oak to support the study.

Silvius said she has been working over the past year with Farmer’s Mutual Telephone Company in Stanton holding multiple meetings with stakeholders, local, state and federal, discussing possibilities for building out fiber optic capability to every area of the county, including considerations for possible funding sources.

Currently, rural residents in the 623 area code are under-served, lacking access to fiber optic or adequate broadband connectivity.

“Currently, residents inside Red Oak city limits, have access to internet to other service providers that do not offer the same fiber optic capacity, redundancy and reliability requirements that new and future residents are seeking when considering relocation,” Silvius said.

“We could be the first county in the State of Iowa, and in the mid-state region to have fiber optics to every home and business in the county, in our state. We’re looking at how we can use this as an opportunity to attract innovative, entrepreneurial-minded people and especially start-up or technology-focused business to our area,” said Silvius.

Silvius said they have established a 24-member fiber optic committee to determine the opportunities and a business model that everyone in the county is supportive of to be prepared for future funding opportunities from the federal government and the state.

Silvius said the study will allow them to conduct market research and gather background information they need to determine when and how to move forward with bringing total fiber coverage to the county. The study will provide a clearer understanding of the current usage and future demand.

Norris shared details of the fiber optic discussion, and said the feelings of the committee members were that broadband expansion was needed in Montgomery County, which was a focus of the study.

“We had these folks from the Community Broadband Action Network come down, and they are a conglomerate of experts on the field of connecting Iowa communities to better internet service. We need money to do this survey and study. The survey will tell us who in Red Oak has service, what is that service like, what would they like to see improved, and how much would they pay for that improvement.”

Norris said it’s a learning process, and they have never built out a communications utility. The plan would provide access to experts that can give opinions on how to do that. The funding request was for $17,200, half of the funding for the study. The other half of the funding would be sought from the City of Red Oak.

Fiber committee member Larry Brandstetter said research from Silvius indicated a lack of high-speed internet is preventing people from moving to rural communities that don’t have it. Supervisor Bryant Amos said he had heard similar comments from local realtors that home buyers were more interested in homes with fiber access than homes without.

Supervisor Rudy Kinard asked what the final costs would be to bring fiber optic capabilities to the remaining 623 exchange area which includes the city of Red Oak and much of the rural, western side of the county. Norris said the number was undetermined, and that’s one of the things the survey, and study would determine.

Kinard said the affordability of bringing fiber optic capabilities seemed more important than the study. Supervisors Chairman Mike Olson said they were not discussing whether or not to pay for fiber optics installation, merely to have a survey and study to determine the costs and feasibility to expand fiber optics to complete Red Oak and the remaining area without access to fiber in the county.

“We need data, and we need to know exactly where we stand. If we determine that only 22 percent of the households in the 623 exchange are going to commit to it, then we’re out,” said Olson.

Silvius said Kinard’s concerns and questions would be answered based on the findings.

“We’ll know the take rate, what people are currently paying and are willing to pay, and if they are willing to take on the service. It’s a study that will tell us the current and projected supply and demand,” said Silvius. “We already know we have residents living outside the city limits in our rural, west side of the county who do not even have access to internet services or have completely inadequate upload, let alone download speeds. We need to find out how many of these residents would like to have fiber optic services our current providers will not likely ever provide to them.”

Silvius added the SmartSource Consulting group was not affiliated with any businesses and were completely neutral in their findings. They have each worked in the utility industry, and as city administrators and economic developers.

Supervisor Donna Robinson said there were no representatives from the City of Red Oak offices, and she felt the funding request should have been brought to them first. Silvius said Red Oak Mayor Bill Billings is a member of the fiber committee, and Red Oak city administrator Brad Wright is a member of the MCDC Board and voted in favor of MCDC approaching the city and county for funding for the study.

Amos said if the Red Oak City Council declined to fund part of the study, the proposal would not continue through the county.

Samantha Beeson, who lives in a rural area, said she lived in a spot where it was difficult to get an internet service provider.

“We have a U.S. Celluar hotspot, and only so many gigabytes a month. When it’s done, it’s done. My kids are in school, and they have computers, so homework is based off the internet. When we’re done with our data, we’re done, and the kids have to go somewhere else to do their homework. Listening to this, I think this is something that not only Red Oak, but a whole bunch of rural people can benefit from, and not only farmers but people who have kids in the school system,” commented Beeson.

Kinard requested the opportunity to talk to some of the communities who had worked with Smart Source to discuss their experiences before voting on the proposal.

The supervisors agreed to move the vote on the funding request to the April 30 meeting.