Spencer Municipal Utilities (SMU) of Spencer, Iowa, will be replacing old copper cable with fiber this summer. According to the Daily Reporter, customers can expect the upgrade with no increase in rates. From the article:
“Just like internet service has evolved from dial up to DSL and cable modem, fiber will give customers the next level of service to continue to improve the way they live, work and play here in Spencer,” Amanda Gloyd, SMU marketing and community relations manager,” said.
“We want to keep our customers on the cutting edge,” she said.
Plans are to upgrade around 700 customers in one section of town during this first phase at a cost of around $2 million.
“This project is all paid for with cash in the bank,” [General Manager Steve] Pick said. “This is an investment in the system.”
SMU has offered telecommunications services to customers since 2000 and supplies water, electric, cable tv, Internet, telephone, and wireless service in the town of about 11,000. Rates for Internet range from $20 to $225 per month with cable tv analog Basic service as low as $14 and Basic Plus at $46. As options are added, monthly fees increase.
We see regular upgrades in service with little or no increase in price from many municipal networks. Comparatively, increases in price with little or no increase in service is a typical business decision from the private sector. Unlike AT&T, CenturyLink, or Time Warner Cable, municipal networks like SMU consider customers to be shareholders, and do what is best for the community at large.
We spoke with Curtis Dean of the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities for episode 13 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. He told us about the tradition in Iowa for self-reliance and its manifestation in the telecommunications industry.
Curtis also told us about Hansen’s Clothing, a century-old men’s clothier in Spencer. This community staple was on the edge of closing its doors until broadband came to town. Hansen’s was able to begin selling high quality clothing online, offering pieces that were not available in places like New York or Los Angeles. Hansen’s, a third-generation Spencer establishment, quickly developed a profitable online audience.