News : iVinton group visits Indytel in Independence

The server room at Indytel in Independence

Marty Diesburg, Indytel general manager conducted the facility tour

Ray Knoff, Rick Ohrt, Kurt Karr, Jason Hicok and Kim Meyer, all members of the iVinton telecom advisory committee visited Indytel in Independence Tuesday night. The purpose of the visit was to gain an understanding of how the Independence municipal telecommunications service was built and is maintained. Indytel was formed in 1999.

Marty Diesburg, general manager of Indytel conducted the facility tour, answered questions and provided information about options for constructing a system in Vinton.

Marty shared that despite having an overwhelming share of the customers in Independence, they continue to add a few new customers each month. In a discussion about the value of local service, he shared how he recently helped a merchant troubleshoot a problem with a credit card device. In another example, a business’s phone system crashed and the Indytel staff worked quickly so calls were automatically forwarded to cell phones.

In a previous iVinton meeting with Curtis Dean of the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities, the committee members learned that one to two years are required to construct a system after engineering and economic feasibility studies have been completed.

A key element determining what will be built and the investment will be is the question of Vinton partnering with another telecom, or like Independence, building an entire system from the ground up. Vinton could avoid much of the capital expense by partnering with another firm or community. In addition to partnerships with one community or firm, Vinton might instead elect to join a consortium of communities now forming a partnership to create startup and ongoing operational cost savings.

Independence built their telecommunications system early in the development of municipal telecoms. A consequence of being early was the need to construct the complete system including main office, satellite dishes, as well as installation of their own servers, receivers and phone switching equipment. Independence, like many other communities and firms, has ample infrastructure capacity to serve Vinton’s needs, though repair and installation service would still be provided by the Vinton municipal telecommunications utility.

A tour and meeting at Shellsburg’s USA Communications will be next on the agenda after the first of the year.