Image
Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
Cedar Falls Schools Get 1 Gig from Cedar Falls Utilities
By
on
As of December 2, students and staff in Cedar Falls schools have access to 1 gig Internet service from Cedar Falls Utilities (CFU). The WCF Courier reports that the Board of Education recently decided to switch from the Iowa Communications Network (ICN):
Doug Nefzger, the district's financial officer, said though Des Moines-based ICN has been a great partner for a number of years, it's always best to go with a local group.
"We may be paying a little [no-glossary]bit[/no-glossary] more money but what this provides for our kids far outweighs the added expense associated with that," Nefzger said.
The District will pay CFU approximately $11,400 per year for gigabit Internet access to be shared between nine schools and three other District facilities. ICN provided 130 Mbps Internet service for $8,200 per year. The District will now have the capacity to provide a tablet or laptop to each student by 2015. The 1:1 goal is part of the District's five-year technology plan.
According to Rob Houlihan, Network Service Manager at CFU, each building is already connected via CFU fiber. As a result, District buildings will also enjoy a 1 gig WAN. Robust Internet access is important, but a high capacity WAN improves communication between facilities with no need to send data to the Internet. CFU provides fiber connections at no charge to the District, saving significant public dollars. Shane Paige, Supervisor of Technology Services at the Cedar Falls Schools noted via email:
That could easily cost us $5,000-$10,000 per month after discounts if we were leasing lines. We have been extremely fortunate in the fact that we have never been put in that position of having to deal with the extra costs of point to point connections for our buildings.
CFU also provides free cable television service to twelve District facilities, saving approximately $600 per month.
For more on how CFU is serving the community, listen to our recent conversation with Rob Houlihan, Network Services Manager, and Kent Halder, Communications Sales Manager. Christopher recently interviewed them on Episode 75 of the Broadband Bits podcast.
We also have numerous stories on the CFU network.
Geoterm
Related Stories
Making Waves in Baltimore with Community-Driven Connectivity
Profile on the people behind Project Waves, a non-profit organization founded in 2018 to bring broadband to mostly low-income households in Baltimore City.
Open Access Conduit in West Des Moines, Iowa Brings Google Fiber, Choice to City Residents
West Des Moines, Iowa is making steady progress on a $60 million open access fiber-optic conduit system to expedite the delivery of affordable fiber citywide.
Waterloo, Iowa Voters GO Forward with Municipal Fiber Network
After years of consideration and planning, Waterloo, Iowa is finally moving quickly forward with its plan to build a citywide municipal fiber network.
Nearly $1 Billion in Rescue Plan Funds Heads to Six States
The U.S. Treasury Department announced another six states have been approved to receive nearly $1 billion in Capital Projects Funds from the American Rescue Plan to bring new broadband infrastructure to more than 180,000 homes and businesses.
Waterloo Set to Vote on Funding for Municipal Fiber Network
The City of Waterloo, Iowa has been flirting with the idea of building a municipal fiber network since 2005 when voters approved the creation of a municipal utility service. Voters said yes to the concept then but were not asked to put any money behind it.
PCMag Fastest ISPs 2022: Municipal Broadband and Local ISPs Outperform Major ISPs Once Again
As was the case last year, PCMag’s recently released Top 10 list of “The Fastest ISPs of 2022” feature operators that are either municipal broadband networks or use city-owned fiber or conduit to deliver service across whole or parts of their footprint (with the exception of this year’s ninth-place finisher). Another way of saying that is: not one of 10 fastest networks in the nation are owned or operated by the major national ISPs, many of whom have embarked on an aggressive lobbying campaign to misinform public officials in particular and the public in general on the viability and successes of municipal broadband and local partnerships.