Program to help small businesses avoid utility disconnection expanded

A program to help small businesses keep their utilities on is being expanded to help more businesses avoid having their gas or electric service disconnected. The Iowa Economic Development Authority announced Friday that eligibility requirements for the Iowa Small Business Utility Disruption Prevention Program has been expanded to include utility…

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ISU-led project named national finalist with proposal for rural broadband research lab

A research project led by Iowa State University into broadband delivery for rural communities is one of two finalists for a national grant by the Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research (PAWR), funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and 35 wireless companies and associations.  A team of 10 core project…

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West Des Moines, Google Fiber partnering to provide high-speed internet access to residents, businesses

By Kathy Bolten | Business Record senior reporter High-speed internet access will be provided to every West Des Moines residence and business through an ambitious plan unveiled last week by city officials and Google Fiber, a provider of fiber-optic broadband internet service. Under a development agreement approved this week by…

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Bill requiring better broadband mapping heads to Senate

A bill co-authored by U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack of Iowa designed to improve the accuracy of the Federal Communications Commission’s broadband availability maps in rural areas has passed the U.S. House and now heads to the Senate, reports the Corridor Business Journal. H.R. 4229, the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological…

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Amazon expansion part of growing D.M. tech scene, leaders say

Amazon.com is opening a delivery station in Grimes that will employ hundreds who prepare packages headed to customers’ doors, the company announced in November. The delivery station, the final stop for an order before being delivered to customers, is expected to open in 2020, according to a news release issued…

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Alliant asked to make changes to new meter proposal

Customers have mixed opinions after Alliant Energy announced a new program to install meters for gas and electric service that send out radio signals to the company, reports Radio Iowa. The Iowa Utilities Board previously ruled against charging customers a fee if they wanted to opt out of the advanced metering…

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Microsoft, Nextlink Internet to expand Airband initiative in Iowa

Microsoft Corp. and Nextlink Internet are partnering to expand the Microsoft Airband Initiative, the Microsoft program dedicated to closing the broadband internet accessibility gap by investing in rural internet access infrastructure.  Microsoft’s partnership with Nextlink will expand Nextlink’s existing deployments in Texas and Oklahoma, and begin new deployments in Iowa,…

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Microsoft sets up shop at Iowa State Fair amid concern over broadband accessibility for rural residents

When Shelley McKinley visited the Iowa State Fair this year, she made sure to swing by the food vendors. “It was awesome. I loved it. I got a big huge bucket of those cookies to take home with me,” McKinley said, laughing. Home for McKinley is Redmond, Wash., where she…

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