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Muscatine Power and Water says ARPA-funded rural fiber buildout complete in targeted area
Summary
Muscatine Power and Water told the county board its ARPA-funded rural fiber project is complete in a limited service area, covering roughly 77 customers; initial subscription rates are lower than expected, officials said.
Muscatine Power and Water Communications Department Manager Tom Lewis told the Muscatine County Board of Supervisors on June 16 that construction and activation of an ARPA-funded rural fiber buildout in a targeted area is complete.
The project covers a roughly rectangular area from Isaac to Salisbury Road and from Highway 22 north to about 170th Street, Lewis said, and can serve about 77 customers in the Grama and Grant area. Lewis said the network is capable of residential service up to one gigabit and can be configured for higher-capacity business links.
County officials said the system went live and the utility is now in a customer sign-up phase. Lewis said the build’s customer penetration is lower than earlier phases of the program: when the utility did its NoFA 6 round it averaged about 76% take-rate; for this new area he estimated penetration is about 40% so far. He asked board members and residents to encourage neighbors to sign up.
Board members asked for the project footprint and confirmed it runs along Lucas Road/Highway 22 to South Marys Road and north from there, not farther east toward Mediapolis, which Lewis said had been part of an earlier phase. Supervisors thanked Lewis for the presentation and had no further substantive requests at the time.
The board did not take action on the presentation; Lewis provided the update and answered questions for the record.
