Metronet Begins Offering Service in Iowa City

Metronet continues on a tear. Almost weekly, the Indiana-based company announces a new market where they plan to build fiber-to-the-home networks. So far they have announced projects in ten states outside of their home state. However their latest move is a bit of a head-scratcher.

According to a news release this week, Metronet has begun hooking up fiber customers in Iowa City, Iowa. This announcement seems very consistent with Metronet's rapid growth in the state of Iowa where they've already built or announced their intentions to build in 12 of Iowa's 30 largest communities, including the vast majority of the Des Moines metro area. This week's announcement adds Iowa City (#5) and Coralville (#25) to that list.

Graphic from Metronet website shows Iowa markets they are in or expanding to. https://construction.metronetinc.com/cct

The head-scratcher is that in coming to the Iowa City/Coralville area, Metronet is choosing a market that ImOn Communications (a CBAN provider member) is already serving with fiber services. ImOn began offering fiber connectivity to businesses in Iowa City several years ago, and began its Iowa City-Coralville buildout in 2020. ImOn is on a path to complete the entire area (residential and business) within the next two years. ImOn has a stellar reputation in its markets (it's hometown of Cedar Rapids and surrounding areas, Dubuque, and Iowa City/Coralville) for excellent service. They have also been a valued partner for municipal broadband utilites in Iowa, offering voice switching services for several community-owned networks in eastern Iowa. And although Metronet has access to seemingly limitless capital, it's strange that they would choose to deploy that capital in a market that is or will soon be very well served.