In Cedar Falls, Obama announces new steps for Internet access

CEDAR FALLS, Ia. - This "gigabit" city where the municipal utility invested early in broadband is the "guinea pig" that proved communities can compete with private businesses to provide high-speed internet to customers, President Barack Obama said Wednesday.

Returning to Iowa for the first time since his 2012 re-election campaign, the president previewed a message he'll deliver in next week's State of the Union Address and steps his administration will take to encourage Internet expansion during a speech to Cedar Falls civic and business leaders and utility employees.

"We're going to clear away red tape, we're going to foster competition, we're going to help communities connect, and help communities succeed in our digital economy," Obama told the crowd of about 200. "And the good news is we know it works because of you. You guys were like the guinea pigs on this thing."

Obama spoke from a garage usually reserved for electrical trucks at Cedar Falls Utilities, on a stage set up before a tableau of electricians' tools, utility boxes, and large spools of wires and cables.

The municipal utility provides some of the fastest Internet speeds available in the country, and served as an example for the level of service and type of market competition the Obama administration wants to encourage nationwide.

On Wednesday, he rolled out new federal grant and loan opportunities for Internet service providers and said he's asked the Federal Communications Commission to use its regulatory power to ensure municipal utilities are able to provide Internet services in a manner similar to Cedar Falls. Nineteen states prohibit public entities from offering consumer broadband, but Iowa is not one of them.

"In too many place across America, some big companies are doing everything they can to keep out competitors," he said. "In some states, it is virtually impossible to create a community network like the one that you've got here in Cedar Falls. So today, I'm saying we're going to change that."

Among those hearing Obama's message was state Rep. Walt Rogers, a Cedar Falls Republican who doesn't often agree with the president's policies and priorities. He appreciated the recognition for his home town's internet efforts, though.

"They've made the right moves to get the broadband and the fiber in place and now it's just a very efficient system," Rogers said. "It's a great role model for other mid- and small-sized cities."

"For the president to come here and point that out is a good thing," he added.

Republicans in Des Moines and Washington weren't so complimentary.

An Iowa GOP press release called Obama a "symbol and enabler of federal dysfunction," while a spokesman for the Republican National Committee faulted him for not making greater progress on internet expansion over the last six years.

"We've heard this all before and despite billions of dollars in spending and countless campaign promises, President Obama still has nothing to show on expanding rural broadband," RNC spokesman Michael Short said in a statement.

Setting his agenda

Although President Barack Obama has a long history and special relationship with Iowa, the appearance in Cedar Falls marked his first visit in more than two years. He last touched down in Des Moines on the night before Election Day in 2012.

He said he was happy to be back and got a little wistful about "a cold January caucus night about seven years ago," but he didn't linger. Obama was on the ground for all of about 90 minutes on Wednesday afternoon, and spoke for just over 15 minutes before shaking a few hands and then hitting the road.

The trip was the latest in a series of events around the country previewing next Tuesday's State of the Union speech.

Last week, Obama described plans for manufacturing, home ownership and college affordability during visits to Detroit, Phoenix and Knoxville, Tenn. Earlier this week, he touted new cybersecurity efforts in Washington, D.C.

It's not uncommon for presidents to take their state of the union agenda on the road, but doing so is particularly important this year, as the Democratic president now faces a Republican-controlled Congress, said University of Iowa political scientist Cary Covington.

"By going around the country and publicizing these things, he's trying to move the public's awareness of those issues and their support for those issues so that Congress might be more receptive when the bills are introduced," Covington said.