Mediacom wants to boost internet in south part of county

LEE COUNTY – While Lee County looks to expand broadband service with one local provider, a larger, more regional internet provider is looking at capitalizing on government funding to bring better service to the area.
Another round of broadband expansion under the Empower Rural Iowa Broadband Grant program has opened an Invitation to Qualify process for the next round of funding.
Mediacom is now working on preparing an application for that funding to expand services in southern Lee County for unserved and underserved homes and businesses.
Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission Executive Director Mike Norris said Mediacom sent him a letter expressing their interest in applying for funds for the south Broadband Intervention Zone, known as Lee County Broadband Expansion Zone #2 with the state’s Office of the Chief Information Officer. The Notice of Funding Opportunity is the eighth generated out of the Empower Rural Iowa effort.
Norris said Mediacom is looking to enhance service to about 4,500 addresses in Iowa, many in the south Lee County area.
A spokesperson for Mediacom confirmed the efforts Monday afternoon in an email to Pen City Current.
She wrote this round of funding is different than previous rounds because the state has identified the Intervention Zones through past Invitations to Qualify.
“One of the ITQ projects we are interested in applying for and building is a rural area located immediately north and west of Keokuk. Mediacom already has fiber optic facilities in and around Keokuk.  As part of our application, we are proposing to service over 80% of the homes and businesses located in that zone with fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband that can support gigabit internet speeds both downstream and upstream,” she wrote.
“As part of the application process, we are reaching out to community leaders in an effort to obtain local support for our project application.  We are confident that, if funded, this project would drastically improve the ability of residents to connect to the internet and create remote work, study, and healthcare opportunities for them.”
The new funding is in a program called Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) 8.
Danville Telecom received funding under NOFO 6 with a partnership with Southeast Iowa Regional and Economic Port Authority and Lee County to build a resiliency loop in the same service area. Danville is also going to use $1.2 million of the county’s America Rescue Plan Act money to run FTTH to about 135 residents in Wever, rural Wever, and Green Bay Bottoms.