Governor Kim Reynolds and the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) announced the latest recipients of the Empower Rural Iowa Broadband Grants Program, Jan. 4. Funding of more than $210 million for new broadband infrastructure has been awarded to 160 applicants as part of the latest investment in expanding broadband across the state, announced in October 2021.
Among the awardees is South Slope Cooperative Communications in North Liberty for $1,214,229.96, which will be used to bring fiber-optic lines to an as yet undetermined area in rural Solon.
South Slope CEO Chuck Deisbeck explained how the cooperative uses such grant money.
“Very consistent with our previous grant opportunities, South Slope applied for funding in areas where we currently serve or adjacent to our serving territories based on the locations in the census blocks defined maps developed by the ICIO. These are not broken down by traditional exchange boundaries defined by the Iowa Utilities Board, but by much smaller census blocks to allow companies to narrow their focus and also provide some competition from others to maximize the use of grant funds wisely.”
Fiber optic cable is made up of strands of glass thinner than a human hair, yet capable of handling many thousands of data transfers simultaneously. The signals are transmitted as “pulses” of light with equipment on either end of the cable converting those pulses into electrical information, which can be voice, Internet data, or television signals. Unlike traditional copper wires and cables, there is little to no signal loss, “cross talk” or interference between wires is eliminated, and much higher bandwidth (the amount of data that can be carried) is possible at a higher transfer speed.
Projects awarded under this grant opportunity will bring more than $526 million of new broadband infrastructure investment to Iowa, serving over 39,000 homes, schools, and businesses. To date, the Empower Rural Iowa Broadband Grant Program has awarded grant funding that will result in over $880 million in new broadband investment, reaching approximately 115,000 homes, schools, and businesses upon the completion of grant-funded projects.
“Our commitment to high-speed, reliable broadband for all Iowans continues to make great progress,” said Gov. Reynolds in a statement. “We’ve received an overwhelming number of applications and funding requests, which highlights the considerable need to expand broadband to all corners of the state. Our investments will help bridge the gap and provide thousands more Iowans the necessary connectivity needed in their homes and communities.”
The OCIO will expedite an additional federally funded grant opportunity in the first half of 2022 to continue expanding access to broadband in unserved and rural areas across Iowa which have not been built out in the previous grant opportunities.
“Rural services, regardless if they are telecom or any other utility, are expensive,” Deisbeck said. “With much less density to generate revenue than more urban areas, the need for these grant funds is extremely important to expand access to broadband for all Iowans. South Slope continues to explore all funding opportunities to assist with getting customers access to broadband more quickly.”
South Slope deploys 100% underground fiber optic cables to serve its customers with the belief it is the most stable, future proof, scalable infrastructure that has been proven to be very durable for many years, he explained. “The recent Derecho and other weather events was proof that underground infrastructure is well worth the investment. The speeds that can be achieved over this technology are also in high demand due to the ongoing pandemic and remotely learning and work that has changed our daily lives.”
South Slope expects to start the project in rural Solon in 2023. Deisbeck noted the project must wait due to contractor availability and supply chain issues with the materials.
“This grant will be used with general funds to complete the census blocks at an estimated $1.9 million for this project. The areas identified in the grant award only represent 12-13% of South Slope’s rural serving area in Solon. Additional investment to fully serve this area is being explored by the cooperative’s management, but no further details are available at this time.
“The OCIO has done an excellent job identifying areas of need, providing clear expectations for applicants, giving timely responses to questions, and releasing the awards quickly with the goal of getting broadband to Iowans as quickly as possible. They should be commended for their work.”
South Slope Cooperative Communications has received a $1.2 million Empower Rural Iowa Broadband Grant. The money will be used in an as yet undetermined area in rural Solon. The cooperative has been replacing existing underground copper cable with fiber optic lines since the early 2000s.