Decorah, Iowa Moving Forward With Municipal Fiber Network
CBAN Community Member City of Decorah is turning a decade-long vision into reality — and they want residents ready when the first crews hit the ground.
Residents of Decorah, Iowa are beginning to receive letters from the city urging them to take action and register for the community’s new municipal fiber internet service. The outreach is part of a pre-subscription push ahead of construction on the city’s long-anticipated $13 million fiber-to-the-home project, which will make gigabit internet service available to every home and business in Decorah.
The Community Broadband Action Network is proud to recognize the City of Decorah as a CBAN community member, and we applaud the progress they’ve made toward delivering world-class connectivity to its residents.
A Community-Owned Model, A Decade in the Making
Decorah’s fiber journey is a textbook example of community-driven broadband. Voters in Decorah approved the establishment of a municipal telecommunications utility in 2015 by an overwhelming margin, with 94% voting yes. The city formed a telecommunications Board to pursue next steps, including a feasibility study. That study consisted of a slide deck and was not a substantive analytical document. The consultant’s findings were that a municipal network in Decorah was not feasible, a finding that was surprising at the time because Decorah’s situation was quite similar to other communities in Iowa where projects were found to be not only feasible but went on to be built and achieve strong financial results. The flawed feasibility study took the wind out of the sails of community leaders, who moved on to other priorities, including a failed attempt to municipalize the city’s electric service.
The project gained renewed momentum during the COVID pandemic, as frustration with incumbent providers grew. Finally, nearly 10 years after the referendum, the city struck a public-private partnership with West Union Trenching to deploy the modern fiber-to-the-home network, and has contracted with Minnesota-based AcenTek to operate the system and provide retail internet service to residents.
The fiber plant and electronics will remain city-owned, with AcenTek handling operations, installs, and billing on behalf of the city. The $13.7 million capital expenditure loan was approved by the City’s Municipal Telecommunications Utility Board of Trustees, led by Decorah Bank & Trust and joined by Viking State Bank, Kerndt Brothers Savings Bank, and First Citizens Bank. A fully local financing package — a point of pride for city officials.
After a 10-Year Wait, Another Year Before Service
Construction is underway on 141 miles of fiber conduit to be installed throughout the city limits, reaching every premise. Some residents could receive service as early as spring 2027, with full network completion expected by late 2027.
Decorah officials are urging interested residents to “take the Decorah pledge” and register at the city’s website, ensuring they’re first in line for service with free installation. The letter campaign now landing in Decorah mailboxes is designed to build that subscriber base early — a critical step for any community-owned network proving out its business model.
Why This Matters Beyond Decorah
The Decorah model — voter-approved, city-owned infrastructure operated by a trusted regional partner — is one that CBAN communities across Iowa and the Midwest are watching closely. Iowa has been a hotbed of municipal fiber deployments, and Decorah’s project has been inspired in part by the success of communities like Waverly and Fort Dodge.
For communities still weighing their options, Decorah’s story is an encouraging one: persistence pays off, local financing is achievable, and residents will show up when given a real choice. CBAN will continue to track Decorah’s progress and share lessons learned with our growing network of community broadband advocates. CBAN salutes community leaders in Decorah who persisted to finally bring better broadband to their residents.