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Mediacom provides affordable broadband service to Marshalltown
IOWA CITY (AP) --- Officials say Marshalltown will be the first city in Iowa get citywide broadband service after Mediacom agreed to provide fast and affordable Internet to residents.
The deal, which was approved this week, expands on a high-speed wireless experiment unveiled in downtown earlier this summer.
"At least for the time being, Marshalltown has the fastest residential internet service in the state of Iowa, and the least expensive," said Mike Miller, chairman of the Marshalltown Economic Development Impact Committee.
Starting later this fall, Mediacom will sell residential broadband Internet service for $19.95 per month, according to the agreement.
A fast and high-capacity service will also be made available for business accounts for $60 per month.
Under the one-year deal, Mediacom also will assume management of the city's existing wireless network -- spanning a 20-block area downtown -- and establish two other wireless hotspots in the city.
In return, the city has agreed to back off plans to hold a referendum on whether to create a public communications utility. Marshalltown is one of more than two dozen Iowa cities working to provide widespread Internet service to residents.
Mediacom officials applauded the city's decision to work with the private sector rather than opting for a publicly financed utility.
"Mediacom applauds the city's leaders ... for responsibly working with existing business in the community and putting the interests of the people of Marshalltown first," said Bell Peard, the company's senior manager for government relations.
Miller said Mediacom was among several telecommunication companies that approached the city after news about it's downtown wireless network spread.
The deal with Mediacom helps the city's economic development leaders reach their goal of providing residents with an affordable, high speed connection to the World Wide Web and critical to the city's appeal to businesses.
This summer, officials spent $35,000 to install a wireless network in downtown. For now, the high speed service is free, but officials say Mediacom may begin limiting free access in coming months.
"The fact that we set up that wireless network demonstrated to the bigger world that we were serious about finding an affordable, high speed option for residents," said Ken Anderson, president of the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce.
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