History of
Hawarden Integrated Technology,
Energy and Communications.

In the fall of 1997, the City of Hawarden, Iowa began operation of a $4.3 million fiber optic enhanced coaxial system, which it calls Hawarden Integrated Technology, Energy and Communications (HiTec). The City financed the project with a $ 0.5 million reserve from electric and gas utilities and the issuance of $3.8 million in bonds.

The system was initially designed to offer cable TV, Telephone and Internet services to residences and businesses. Long term HITEC plans to offer electric load management, remote meter reading, security and monitoring capabilities.

Hawarden's Journey to Telecommunications Service

Hawarden has been in the public utility business for many years and worked under the banner "Owned by the Customers We Serve" many years before it became an industry buzzword. The electric utility has been a city function for over 100 years and the gas utility for more than 40 years. As a result of local control and citizen input, Hawarden's municipal utilities offer some of the lowest electrical and gas rates and the highest quality customer service in the state.

In the years from 1987 to 1999 a number of factors combined to make the formation of HITEC a reality.

1. The Iowa legislature reduced the state funding of capital improvements. This cut into the money available for improvements to the city infrastructure. The Hawarden City Council started looking at options for dealing with this cut in revenue.
2. At the same time, Hawarden's existing cable franchise (Heritage Cablevision) was purchased as part of a group by one of the largest cable providers in the country (TCI). Because of it's small size and relative unimportance to TCI Hawarden felt it had no control over the cable channels offered or the service available to the citizens of Hawarden. The quality of service and choice of cable channels went down as Hawarden and other small markets were taken for granted. As an aside, this move was very prophetic as the large TCI company was purchased in 1999 by the mega-company, AT&T.
3. In 1994, the Iowa Legislature passed legislation that allows municipalities to enter into the communications business, including cable communications and television.
4. In 1994, US West staff in Denver indicated that US West was preparing to sell 23 telephone exchanges in Iowa including the Hawarden exchange.
5. In 1994 the city started community activities to purchase our local exchange from US West. Local citizens formed a committee to promote a positive vote on the referendum, and got 63% of the Hawarden voters out for the October vote. Of those voters, 96% said "yes" to creating a municipal telecommunications utility, giving the council the green light to bid on the Hawarden telephone exchange. Hawarden submitted a bid of $6.5 million for its exchange. But US West choose to sell all 23 exchanges to one bidder, a consortium of private telephone companies.
6. In 1995, the Iowa Communications Act deregulated communications in Iowa and added new rules to the 1994 legislation, making it even more inviting for municipalities to consider entering the business
7. In 1995 the city council dusted off a 1992 engineering study of the feasibility of installing a fiber optic network throughout the community. The plans were updated for a hybrid fiber/coaxial system that could be used for cable television and utility management. The city did not include telephone at this time as it was still unclear, under Iowa law, if municipalities could operate a telephone system.
8. In January 1996 the passage of the Federal Telecommunications Act put a whole new face on the city's consideration of a telecommunications system. This bill eliminated the barriers for entry into the telephone business, allowing "any entity" to operate a communication system. The law specifically states that cable television and electric companies can enter into the telephone business. Because of this legislation, the City of Hawarden moved ahead with plans to add a telephone utility to its fiber optic network.
9. Throughout 1996, work on the Hawarden system continued. A financial plan for a phone business was developed, which showed a 15-20 year pay back on a 30% market penetration the first year, increasing to a 70% penetration the third year and beyond. Plans for the fiber optic system were finalized and in September of 1996, the city took bids for building the communications building and a fiber optic network.
10. November and December 1996 proved to be exciting months for the City of Hawarden. The council awarded bids for construction of the system and switching building in November. An agreement was signed with Pioneer Holdings, Ltd. of South Sioux City, Nebraska that solidified the partnerships that would make Hawarden's telephone service a reality.
11. December 1996 proved to be the point of no return for the City of Hawarden. We issued electric revenue bonds and the communication loan. We also broke ground on the new communications building. We were in the communications business.
12. April 1997 The Hawarden City Council formed the Cable Programming Committee in Hawarden. Nine citizens were selected to represent the general population of the city and determine Hawarden's cable TV programming.
13. April 1997 The new phone company began operation of the Hawarden exchange.
14. On October 16, 1997, service reps from more than two dozen companies and municipalities in northwest Iowa and southeastern South Dakota converged on Hawarden to hook up 600+ customers to HITEC cable TV in a single day. Our residents were ecstatic about the new cable TV service and anxious to move on to phone service. Unfortunately, phone service was still some time away.
15. On October 20, 1998, the City of Hawarden officially entered the telephone industry by placing a phone call on the HITEC system to Iowa's then Governor Terry Branstad.
16. On October 21, 1998, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the term "city utility" does not include telephone service, thereby denying the City of Hawarden the ability to offer phone service to its residents. We had been in the telephone business for a single day and we were turned off again!
17. February 16, 1999, the Iowa Supreme Court reversed itself and HITEC telephone service was on again.

As of October 2000, HiTec phone service provided over 1200 phone lines and service over 80% of Hawarden. We have been the model for over 20 communities who look to the Hawarden model as they struggle to meet the technology demand in rural Iowa that the larger companies chose to ignore.