Hay and beans have fueled this rural economy for years. But it's fiber of another kind that city leaders believe is key to Powell's future.

Plans are under way to build an ultrafast fiber optic network capable of delivering Internet, cable and phone service to virtually every household and business in this city of about 5,300 people. The goal is to create another selling point for a community where traditional quality of life issues — good schools and safe streets — are no longer enough to attract highly coveted new businesses.

"As a city administrator, I hear the term 'economic development' thrown around," said Zane Logan, the leading voice behind the CityNet project. "I can't think of anything more economic-development minded than a fiber optic network."

Powell is part of a growing phenomenon driven, in part, by dissatisfaction with Internet or cable service in what are often sparsely populated areas, according to market researcher Michael Render; at least 40 municipalities and public utility districts already offer local customers so-called "fiber to the home."

The rise of community backed projects has sparked debate about the role of government in private enterprise and whether broadband technology — from fiber optics to wireless — is a luxury or a virtual necessity that cities should provide, the way they do water or garbage service.

"Is it a commodity where you pay for what you use and leave it to the private sector? Or is it a utility, as important to today's lifestyle as water and electricity?" said John Anderson, a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who has studied and written about the debate.

"A lot of communities feel it's in their interest to step in and offer it," he said.

That was the case in Windom, Minn. Before the city announced plans to build its fiber optic network, Internet options were limited to frustratingly slow dial-up or finding a wireless hot spot some 20 miles away, said Dan Olsen, operations manager with WindomNet, the farming community's telecommunications office.

Now, more than a year after Windom built its nearly $11 million network, a major service provider also is in town offering competitive high-speed Internet, he said. About 1,700 customers subscribe to at least one of the three city services — Internet, phone or cable — and some take all three.

"If you're a small town out there and can't get a provider to provide services, what do you do? Give up or get the community involved?" Olsen asked. Windom's network isn't profitable yet, though Olsen said it wasn't expected to be this quickly. "We've been constantly hooking up and growing and monitoring."

There are challenges: According to Joe Savage, president of the Fiber to the Home Council North America, up to 30 percent of households in a given community must subscribe to a fiber network for the system to begin making money. And finding investors or otherwise securing the funds needed to build a network can be difficult.

However, Render, the market researcher, said he knows of no documented failures in what he considers a still-new phenomenon.

In Utah, the vitality of a network known as the UTOPIA project depends on its potential to grow and attract new customers, said Roger Black, deputy director and chief operating officer. Just six of the 14 communities behind the project are now being served by the superfast service, he said. The network must be built out for the others to be brought on, and Black said finding an appropriate lender delayed expansion plans by at least seven months. He hopes construction can begin soon.

Typically, a municipality will own the infrastructure needed to run a network, Render said. In some cases, a community will run its own system and customers send their bill payments to the city's office. In other cases, he said, a community essentially leases network space to service providers.

That's what Powell is pursuing. The city has entered an exclusive, six-year contract with regional carrier TCT to provide Internet, telephone and cable to those willing to pay for the premium service, City Administrator Zane Logan said.

Officials with leading telecoms in the community argue this is unfair and an example of government needlessly intruding in private enterprise: Representatives of both Qwest Communications and Bresnan Communications say their companies already meet customers' demands with high-speed, high-quality services.

Logan said speeds now offered would be surpassed by a city system that would be built to the highest grade. A regional vice president with Bresnan, Clint Rodeman, isn't convinced.

"There probably is some place in the country where it makes sense for a community to endeavor to do such a thing because there's a dearth of services there," said Jerold Lambert, associate general counsel for Bresnan. "It is hardly understandable or prudent for a community to do that where there's already an extended marketplace thriving in their community."

Lambert suggested there may be "legal implications" related to the exclusive deal. Logan said both firms were contacted about being the anchor provider and that both would have been welcome on the network.

Qwest and Bresnan each vow aggressive marketing in response to the city's planned network.

Construction of the $6 million network could begin this year if the necessary investors are lined up, Logan said. The city isn't committing any money above the $125,000 it provided for a business plan, he said, and he expects the city will be reimbursed that cost.

Still, Logan is feeling the pressure: he said he brought the idea to build a fiber-optic network to the City Council late last year, and he's aggressively promoted it as a vital investment in Powell's future.

People seem interested. When businesses and prospective new residents call Sharon Earhardt at the local chamber of commerce, they often follow questions about schools and housing with questions about the city's Internet service: What does Powell have to offer? Is it fast?

Earhardt fills them in on the existing services — wireless, high-speed — and fiber optic plans. For people looking to relocate, she said, "technology will be our ticket."