Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Smaller, Weaker Twin Wants Higher Fiber (Optic) Diet
UPDATE 13Nov: Now that I've read the original study[.pdf], by Doris Kelley, cited below, I know that
a) Waterloo is bigger than Cedar Falls by population.
b) Historically, Waterloo has been the commercial center and Cedar Falls has been the "bedroom," but with the advent of the municipal network, with first Internet service starting in 1997, the study says that this changed rapidly.
c) Land in technology parks with fiber sold (in 2003, the year of the study) for $5000 to $25,000 more per acre than did land in tech parks without fiber.
d) The study points to a 2002 article in the local paper that says,
ORIGINAL POSTING:
Cedar Falls and Waterloo are twin cities in Iowa separated by a city limits sign. The incumbent telco and cableco ignore both. So Cedar Falls decided to build a municipal fiber optic (and residential HFC) network. But Waterloo's citizens voted against it. A study, reported here, found that 11 businesses moved from Waterloo to Cedar falls around the time the network was built. Ouch.
Waterloo Mayor John Rooff complained, "I believe it has hurt us economically to not be able to provide fiber optics to businesses locating in our city."
Waterloo Municipal Telecommunications Utility Board member Doris Kelley exclaimed, "Everyday we're falling farther behind."
A November 2007 story in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that a non-profit company, Waterloo Telecom Partners, Inc., has been organized to help Waterloo catch up. Waterloo Telecom Partners is building an open, access, fiber optic network.
Waterloo City Attorney Jim Walsh describes the project like this:
"We're not talking about having millions of dollars available to go out and do another overlay of the whole city . . . We're going to be patching this together one connection at a time."
Walsh continued, "If they don't want it, we'll be out of business shortly, and it won't matter." Indeed.
a) Waterloo is bigger than Cedar Falls by population.
b) Historically, Waterloo has been the commercial center and Cedar Falls has been the "bedroom," but with the advent of the municipal network, with first Internet service starting in 1997, the study says that this changed rapidly.
c) Land in technology parks with fiber sold (in 2003, the year of the study) for $5000 to $25,000 more per acre than did land in tech parks without fiber.
d) The study points to a 2002 article in the local paper that says,
Cedar Falls set a Cedar Valley construction record this fiscal year, topping out at more than $101 million…Despite a downturn in the national economy, the city blew away all existing records in the fiscal year ending June 30…Meanwhile, the city of Waterloo failed to escape the stalled economy…Suffering from declining commercial permits and no large industrial projects to boost the value, the city recorded less than $53 million in construction during the last fiscal year --- its lowest total in eight years.Thanks to Jim Baller for, ahem, strongly suggesting that I go to the source!
ORIGINAL POSTING:
Cedar Falls and Waterloo are twin cities in Iowa separated by a city limits sign. The incumbent telco and cableco ignore both. So Cedar Falls decided to build a municipal fiber optic (and residential HFC) network. But Waterloo's citizens voted against it. A study, reported here, found that 11 businesses moved from Waterloo to Cedar falls around the time the network was built. Ouch.
Waterloo Mayor John Rooff complained, "I believe it has hurt us economically to not be able to provide fiber optics to businesses locating in our city."
Waterloo Municipal Telecommunications Utility Board member Doris Kelley exclaimed, "Everyday we're falling farther behind."
A November 2007 story in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that a non-profit company, Waterloo Telecom Partners, Inc., has been organized to help Waterloo catch up. Waterloo Telecom Partners is building an open, access, fiber optic network.
Waterloo City Attorney Jim Walsh describes the project like this:
"We're not talking about having millions of dollars available to go out and do another overlay of the whole city . . . We're going to be patching this together one connection at a time."
Walsh continued, "If they don't want it, we'll be out of business shortly, and it won't matter." Indeed.
Technorati Tags: fiberoptics, MunicipalNetworks, MunicipalUtilities
Comments:
I have some familiarity with the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area, having had frequent business there some years ago. Some other pertinent facts may be that W'loo is basically a blue collar town, with the dominant industry being a very large John Deere plant. CF's main employer, by contrast, is the University of Northern Iowa, a campus with 13,000 students. This difference may well account for Cedar Falls' more forward stance in this issue.
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# posted by 
: 12/12/2008 10:59 AM
: 12/12/2008 10:59 AM
