We’ve been following the fiber project in Southwest Minnesota for a while – definitely since they were awarded the ARRA funding. They have been on time deploying fiber and great about sending updates. Broadband Properties just ran an article that really outlines their project and progress. I won’t recap the whole article because as I said we’ve bee following their progress – but I wanted to share the highlights on why they think they have been successful. I think their notes will be helpful to others:

SMBS is a success in the eyes of its satisfied customers and the member cities. What makes this project so successful?

• There really was a need for services. Incumbent providers had not stepped up to offer next-generation services.
• Communities realized they could not do it alone. For a single community to succeed at building a fiber optic network would have been difficult; banding together aggregated the communities’ demand and allowed the financials to work.
• The project has several champions. Because multiple communities participate, there is a champion in each community. Jackson County has also been very supportive of the project both financially and politically.
• SMBS has a strong partner in WindomNet, and the two entities are linked in their success. Sharing both technology and expertise improves the bottom line of both entities.
• Good project management discipline was used. Projects such as SMBS are very complicated and have many moving parts. Having a project plan and follow-up ensures that nothing is missed and that any missteps are fixed and learned from.