Take Our Broadband Survey!Your feedback is very important! As part of our Community Broadband Study, the Ottumwa Regional Legacy Foundation (ORLF) encourages citizens to participate in our broadband survey. The survey will help us determine current satisfaction with broadband services, evaluate current providers, and develop strategies for bringing fiber optic broadband to Ottumwa!
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Participate in our Broadband Performance Assessment!The Broadband Performance Assessment allows you to enter your address, conduct an internet speed test, and provide additional feedback about your internet experience. By taking the assessment, you'll help ORLF measure ACTUAL internet speeds in and around Ottumwa and identify possible gaps in coverage.
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Community Broadband Study
ORLF has retained SmartSource Consulting, LLC of Grimes, Iowa to begin a multi-phase approach to evaluating broadband options for the community.
Phase 1 of the project is a Community Broadband Study and Assessment that will take place this winter. During this phase, SmartSource Consulting and its partners, Kielkopf Advisory Services and HR Green, will conduct the following activities:
Phase 1 of the project is a Community Broadband Study and Assessment that will take place this winter. During this phase, SmartSource Consulting and its partners, Kielkopf Advisory Services and HR Green, will conduct the following activities:
- Take steps to educate citizens about the importance of fast, reliable, and affordable broadband.
- Engage with individuals, anchor entities, and leadership groups to discover broadband gaps.
- Conduct and report on a comprehensive community broadband survey to measure attitudes about incumbent providers and gauge interest in public-sector involvement to closing service gaps.
- Collect internet performance data from Ottumwa residential and commercial customers.
- Develop a high-level design for a fiber-to-the-home network in Ottumwa as well as a cost estimate for that network.
Background
The Ottumwa Legacy Foundation, through its subsidiary Ottumwa Fiber LLC, constructed sections of a fiber network in the community over the past several years. The purpose of this investment is two-fold; to provide advanced connectivity to businesses and institutions that need it, and to serve as a base to attract private investment in additional fiber infrastructure to serve the greater Ottumwa community.
The Ottumwa Fiber network currently consists of 6 route miles, with a goal being to construct extensions over the next two years. The network benefits several anchor entities along its route and is intended to facilitate these future extensions. Expanding the network would bring new levels of broadband services to a broader customer base, providing long-term communitywide benefits.
The Foundation’s role in being a catalyst for change in expanding both broadband access and local economic opportunities is to (1) facilitate ways to leverage its existing investment, (2) identify potential operating and capital partners based on demonstrating Ottumwa is an attractive market, and (3) devise a strategic implementation strategy once partners express interest.
These are challenging to accomplish in that while anecdotal evidence indicates there are reliability and availability issues with incumbent cable and telephone companies, a full determination of market demand for improved services has not been vetted. Without industry-specific data about potential demand and the opportunity that Ottumwa offers, it will likely be difficult for the Foundation to reach its goal of attracting new investment and service provider alternatives.
The Ottumwa Fiber network currently consists of 6 route miles, with a goal being to construct extensions over the next two years. The network benefits several anchor entities along its route and is intended to facilitate these future extensions. Expanding the network would bring new levels of broadband services to a broader customer base, providing long-term communitywide benefits.
The Foundation’s role in being a catalyst for change in expanding both broadband access and local economic opportunities is to (1) facilitate ways to leverage its existing investment, (2) identify potential operating and capital partners based on demonstrating Ottumwa is an attractive market, and (3) devise a strategic implementation strategy once partners express interest.
These are challenging to accomplish in that while anecdotal evidence indicates there are reliability and availability issues with incumbent cable and telephone companies, a full determination of market demand for improved services has not been vetted. Without industry-specific data about potential demand and the opportunity that Ottumwa offers, it will likely be difficult for the Foundation to reach its goal of attracting new investment and service provider alternatives.
Resources for Ottumwa Residents
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Frequently Asked QuestionsYou may have a lot of questions about the what a community-owned fiber network would mean. On this page we'll keep an updated list of questions we receive and answers to those questions.
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