Thirty-nine grants totaling $97.5 million have been awarded under the state’s Empower Rural Iowa Broadband Grants Program, which was created this year by the Iowa Legislature to expand high-speed internet statewide. According to a news release from the governor’s office, 178 applications were received from broadband providers requesting nearly $300 million. In the release issued Tuesday, Gov. Kim Reynolds said expanding broadband statewide […]
Mahaska Communication Group, based in Oskaloosa, announced on Aug. 20 that broadband internet service with speeds up to two gigabits per second will soon be available to Newton residents and businesses. MCG’s residential and business customers will also be eligible for television and telephone services. Construction on the underground network will start in phases in […]
Hongwei Zhang and other researchers installed hardware at the Iowa State University’s Research Park for CyNet, an advanced wireless networking system that’s a predecessor to the new ARA rural broadband project. Photo provided A $16 million rural broadband research project will cover nearly 40 miles of rural communities and farmland, researchers told state and industry […]
Dallas-based DartPoints is testing the waters in Iowa with localized “edge-market” data centers designed to network across underserved regions in the U.S. Built in 2020, the company’s North Liberty edge data center represents one of 212 underserved markets targeted by DartPoints, which recently announced a partnership with DE-CIX International’s Internet Exchange carrier to deliver broadband […]
Kinetic by Windstream is partnering with Vermeer Corp. in Pella to provide construction equipment for broadband expansion across 18 states, Kinetic announced this week. The expansion will add nearly 1,000 jobs, and projects in more than 70 locations will begin in 2022.
Fourteen broadband providers received $15,542,302 in Empower Rural Iowa broadband grants from the state of Iowa this week, the office of Gov. Kim Reynolds announced on Monday. The funding is the remainder of the $50 million in CARES funding designated for broadband grants from a previous round, and cover 21 counties and more than 2,800 homes, […]
The Federal Communications Commission awarded more than $143 million to 11 broadband providers as part of a national initiative to bring broadband to 10 million Americans, the FCC announced Friday. The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund awarded 11 broadband providers grants ranging from $8,586 to $112,637,885 to deliver speeds of 100 megabits-per-second download in rural Iowa. […]
Deere & Co. has received 5G licenses in five Iowa and Illinois counties as part of the Federal Communications Commission auction for the Citizens Broadband Radio Service 3.5 GHz spectrum, enabling Deere to accelerate the availability of 5G in its largest manufacturing facilities in North America, the company announced this week. Providing 5G access and […]
Nearly $9.4 million in grant funds are available in Iowa to expand broadband access to rural Iowa and 43 colleges and universities in the state. The state of Iowa and the Iowa Department of Education awarded nearly $4.4 million to increase internet connectivity for students in the 2020-21 school year; $5 million in additional broadband […]
Johnston city leaders approved plans by telecommunication company MetroNet to begin construction on a network for high-speed fiber optic internet, TV and phone service through the city, Johnston announced this week. MetroNet, based in Indiana, provides fiber-optic connections to homes and businesses with speeds ranging from 100 megabits to 1 gigabit per second. Construction will […]