Dave Duncan

Iowa View contributor

There was still an electricity in the air in Jefferson, three days after Silicon Valley came to Greene County. [Silicon Valley is betting on one Iowa town's efforts to bring tech jobs to rural America, Dec. 8]

Folks were still talking about the Dec. 7 visit by high-tech leaders from companies like Microsoft and LinkedIn who were eager to learn about an innovative project that will train local high school students for software development jobs.

Jefferson community leaders were equal to the innovation they were supporting. They saw an opportunity, developed a vision and sold the community on it. Jefferson, Iowa, was on the lips of rural economic developers nationwide.

But Jefferson would not be in the news today if it weren’t for the local telecommunications company. Jefferson Telecom provides gigabit-speed internet service to residents through its fiber network that reaches every home and business. Without those speeds, Silicon Valley would not be knocking.

Much is made of the digital divide that separates rural Iowans into “haves” and the “have-nots.” At the same time, Iowa has recently been celebrated as the No. 1 connected state.

A big reason is that there are at least 180 “gigabit” communities – places with high-speed connectivity that allows them to compete in a global economy. Most of those communities are served by Iowa-based, rural telecommunications companies like Jefferson Telecom. And those towns are also seeing the dramatic benefits that come from high-speed connectivity.

There is southwest Iowa, where Farmers Mutual Telephone Company of Stanton (FMTC) has extended fiber to homes and businesses across its service territory. The Montgomery County Memorial Hospital in Red Oak has used FMTC’s fiber-optic broadband service to become one of the most well-connected hospitals in the state, giving it the ability to introduce a tele-health stroke neurologist and to develop other leading medical specialties that are normally available only in large metro areas.

There is central Iowa, where Huxley Communications was one of the first in the nation to offer fiber-to-the-home service, in 2001 (yes, six years before the iPhone was invented). By the end of 2002, Huxley Communications offered every resident of Slater and Cambridge fiber-optic service. Today, the company offers gigabit service to Huxley, Kelley, Slater, Cambridge, Elkhart, Alleman and Luther.

And there is southeast Iowa, where Liberty Communications in West Liberty has helped support a culture of entrepreneurship, while ensuring that the town’s largest employer – West Liberty Foods – stays put.

Unfortunately, there are too many places where affordable, high-speed internet connections are only a dream, and any coverage they have is at speeds not unlike the old dial-up days.

The state of Iowa is aware of those challenges and the inequities that exist. The Legislature in the past few years has approved legislation to chip away at the digital divide via property tax reform and telecom regulation modernization. This year, lawmakers approved $1.3 million from the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund for a broadband grant program. That investment recognizes broadband networks for what they are: a key element of the state’s infrastructure.

This summer, Gov. Reynolds created the Empower Rural Iowa task force, and rural broadband is one area where the citizen-led commission has made recommendations to bolster rural Iowa housing, leadership and overall quality of life.

Empower Rural Iowa was initially focused on broadband, housing and rural leadership. The recommendations made this month for broadband include identification of a sustainable funding source for the state’s broadband grant fund. That makes sense, since the main impediment to further expansion of broadband networks and services is financial – it’s expensive to serve rural, sparsely populated areas.

The timing for this action is critical because our neighbors are already moving. Over the past several years, Minnesota’s broadband grant funding has ranged between $10 million and $35 million per year. Wisconsin’s broadband fund has grown to $14 million per year. Its latest round of grants totaled $7 million, distributed among 37 recipients who serve 1,100 business locations and 14,000 residences.

There are federal programs available through the USDA and FCC, but those are available to all states. Rural broadband investments at the state and local levels are making a difference across the country. And a significant investment by the Iowa Legislature in the broadband grant program will open the door to more Jefferson-like celebrations while generating more interest in Iowa from Silicon Valley.

Dave Duncan is the CEO of the Iowa Communications Alliance.