By Denise Lana,
City officials are taking the next step toward upgrading Decorah to a fiber network for area businesses and homes. The city is currently receiving bids for the project, with plans to open the sealed bids at 10 a.m. Nov. 4. A public hearing will be held at 4 p.m. Nov. 7 to share input with the Decorah Metronet Board as well as city staff.
Currently, Decorah is home to a fiber ring through Metronet, but it is only available to the Decorah Metronet group, which consists of Luther College, city and county offices, Decorah Schools, the Winneshiek County Fairgrounds and WinnMed. The city plans to expand the available fiber optics to reach all businesses and residential properties, giving residents access to significantly faster and more reliable internet connections and phone speeds.
“Fiber is the elite out there for telecommunications,” said Chopper Albert, information technologies director for the city of Decorah. “It offers no slowdown uploading and downloading, and there are no caps on usage. The current coaxial cable franchise we have was established in the 1970s or before. The service will be night and day with fiber.”
When the city’s fiber group began in 2010, there were 8 miles of underground fiber. By the summer of 2023, there were around 42 miles. Some of the additions were paid for by the city, while some were covered by cellular companies and the 911 Commission. According to Albert, numerous businesses and homeowners wanted to connect to the fiber ring but would have had to pay out of pocket for the fiber optics to be installed.
Decorah City Manager Travis Goedken is working to line up the financing for the proposed build and have the residents subscribe to the service, which will fund the maintenance of the utility.
According to Albert, the city will use the existing Decorah Metronet fiber network and divide the city into 10 or 20 pockets.
“For example, the Flats would be one pocket. We would branch off the existing fiber where it is closest to the Flats,” Albert said. “All the fiber lines will be buried in conduit, installed in the right of way and penetrate each home. It might take three to four months to connect all the residences in that pocket. The plan is to accomplish two to three pockets per year.”
A residential fiber network would allow the city to establish an automated water meter scanning system, which Goedken said would save the city time and labor. City officials also said Decorah’s water department would have a better handle on the city’s water usage and loss under the new system.
“A city employee could pull up the water meter system from city hall and see every residence’s water use,” he said. “Imagine if a pipe burst in a residence and it went unnoticed — that employee could easily see it and minimize damage and water loss.”
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