To the editor:

Dear citizens of Fort Dodge, I am reaching out to you all as we have an important election coming up on Nov. 5. On this year’s ballot you will be asked if city government should explore options into a municipal broadband utility. I ask you to join me in voting yes! Approval of the referendum does not necessarily mean Fort Dodge will build a broadband network. But if you vote yes, you are telling the city to continue exploring all the options.

In this day and age we rely on the internet for many activities, whether it be their television services, gaming, or just surfing the web. When your internet is not reliable, it poses many problems. Personally, I have dealt with another internet provider which I loved, but unfortunately after I moved, I was not able to keep services due to my new location. I was basically left with only one option for internet, which is expensive and unreliable. And the company lacks good, local communication. When I have called with concerns about my internet, I am never able to actually talk to someone in the area that cares about my concerns, but instead I am talking with someone across the country. When I have scheduled an appointment for a service call, my experience is most of the technicians I have dealt with are not equipped with all the tools needed for the job, especially the basic tools of communication and compassion.

I believe the citizens of Fort Dodge deserve better than the current options we have. We deserve working with local citizens when we have a problem, rather than someone across the country. We deserve reliable internet, we deserve technicians that are equipped with all the tools of the job, and we deserve internet that is affordable.

Over the years I have spoken with several other citizens of Fort Dodge who are dissatisfied with our current options, and that is why I ask for you to vote yes! Let our government explore other options, what do we have to lose?

AshLee Wood

Fort Dodge