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South Slope receives $5.4 million award to expand rural broadband

October 15, 2020

South Slope Cooperative Communications, a telecommunications company based in North Liberty, has won a $5.4 million dollar award from the the U.S. Department of Agriculture to expand broadband service in rural areas.

South Slope was awarded support through the ReConnect Program from the U.S Department of Agriculture. This program offers unique federal financing and funding options in the form of loans and grants to facilitate broadband deployment in areas of rural America that don’t currently have sufficient access to broadband. South Slope’s funding will be in the form of a $2.7 million grant, while the other $2.7 million will be through an RUS loan.

The money will expand broadband services to an area including more than 760 households in Iowa and Johnson Counties. The funding is expected to bring fiber-optic service to 1,984 people, 26 businesses and 147 farms, according to the news release.

“The expense that goes into building fiber networks, especially in rural areas, is extremely high and is often cost prohibitive,” said South Slope CEO Chuck Deisbeck in an announcement. “But, in an effort to serve our members, we never stop looking for opportunities to apply for grants and assistance.”

Fiber optic technology will enable South Slope customers to access internet with speeds up to one Gigabit (1,000 Megabits per second), which is 50 times faster than the average residential internet connection. Faster and more reliable internet speeds enable customers to download content faster, stream 4K video effortlessly and connect multiple devices.

The USDA received 172 applications from the second round of grants and loans. 31 awards were given out.

Previous coverage

Expanding Broadband Access Across Iowa -Sept. 9, 2020

Tags: rural broadband South Slope

South Slope receives $5.4 million award to expand rural broadband | Clay & Milk

A central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and DuPont Pioneer. Each investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director. As interim director, Dhawan said his main job includes hiring the accelerator's executive director, establishing a business structure and initial recruiting for the first cohort. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech. For its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund. Dhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. "These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. "It becomes easier to work with trade associations in their nonprofit role when we are also a nonprofit." When it's up and running, the AgriTech Accelerator would be one of a handful of ag-focused startup development programs in Iowa. Others include the Ag Startup Engine out of Iowa State University and the Rural Ventures Alliance from Iowa MicroLoan. Matthew Patane is the managing editor and co-founder of Clay & Milk. Send him an email at mpatane@clayandmilk.com.

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