State office of CIO holds Charles City town hall on internet service

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

Residents, community leaders, and telecom professionals came together for a discussion about digital services in a town hall-style meeting at the Charles City Public Library on Wednesday, May 3.

Mark Lafferty, working with the Iowa Office of the Chief Information Officer, hosted the informational meeting, seeking feedback from the community about how the internet is used and how the expansion of better internet service can be facilitated in both Charles City and surrounding rural areas.

“For people to fully participate, the way things are going right now, you have to be part of that digital society,” said Lafferty.

From accessibility and affordability of broadband internet to resources that teach people how to make the most of their internet-connected devices, the meeting was a brainstorming session for how best to use millions of dollars in incoming federal funds.

Lafferty acknowledged that Charles City’s ability to qualify for grants is somewhat limited due to the city already largely having access to 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload speeds, regardless if area providers can reliably provide those speeds consistently, but noted that the feedback is still important as part of the congregate mix of data that will help guide how the federal money is spent.