Broadband Bytes
  • News
  • About

Vinton Fiber Project is a GO

2/13/2019

0 Comments

 
After years of advocacy by residents and careful study, a community-owned fiber network in Vinton, Iowa is finally moving forward.
PicturePhoto courtesy of iVinton Facebook page
On March 12th, the Vinton Municipal Electric Utility Board of Trustees, which also serves as the governing board for the communications utility authorized by voters in late 2015, voted 5-0 to approve bids totalling approximately $6.5 million for the FTTP project. Overall bids came in just under the original engineer's estimates.

​Nearly 40 Vinton citizens attended the Board meeting, despite a winter storm that raged outside and closed major roads into and out of town. There were lots of smiling faces when the Board's unanimous vote was cast, followed quickly by excited determination to get started on all of the many tasks needed to bring the network online by the end of 2019 or early 2020.

The bids were accepted contingent to final financing details, which are expected to be wrapped up over the next several weeks. Central Cable Contractors will be the lead contractor for the outside plant. Construction is expected to begin in early summer, with the goal to have most of the feeder & distribution network completed by the end of year. 
0 Comments

Save The Date-Fall Broadband Meeting

4/20/2018

0 Comments

 
The 2018 IAMU Fall Broadband Meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 26, 2018 at the IAMU Office and Training Complex in Ankeny. This is our traditional mid-year "check up" that provides Iowa municipal broadband providers with an opportunity to network and get caught up on new developments in the industry.  

​Mark your calendars now; registration materials will be coming in late summer.
0 Comments

Mark Your Calendars - 2019 IAMU Broadband Conference

3/29/2018

0 Comments

 
The 2019 IAMU Broadband Conference dates are set - March 13 & 14, 2019.  The dates are earlier than in past conferences due to a shuffling of other Midwest telecom shows that we don't want to conflict with.  The Minnesota Telecom Alliance moved their conference to the last week in March and the Iowa Communications Alliance moved to the third week, forcing us to move to the second week in March.

The venue is yet to be determined but will likely be in the Des Moines area as usual. For now, put those dates on your calendar and we'll announce details as they become available.
0 Comments

It's A Wrap - 2018 IAMU Broadband Conference

3/23/2018

0 Comments

 
The 8th annual IAMU Broadband Conference is in the books. 
​
Over 140 people (attendees and vendor representatives) enjoyed two days of learning and networking at the Holiday Inn and Suites in Urbandale. 
Picture
Eric Lampland of Lookout Point Communications explains 5G wireless technology, with co-presenter Christopher Mitchell (seated)
Picture
A "meeting of the muni minds" during a break at the conference.
Picture
Presenting Sponsor Power & Tel was a hub of activity during the Vendor Show on March 22nd
Picture
38 vendors participated in the Vendor Show.

Broadband Vanguard Awards

 IAMU honored two individuals and one organization for outstanding support and service to municipal broadband during the inaugural Broadband Vanguard Awards held on Thursday, March 22, 2018. IAMU Executive Director Troy DeJoode presented each of the winners with a certificate during the awards ceremony.
Picture
Former City of Hawarden manager Bob Borchers was recognized for "blazing the trail" for municipal utilities to be able to becoming telephone providers. Under Borchers' leadership, Hawarden became one of the first municipal telecom utilities in Iowa. Then, when the Iowa Supreme Court threatened to block Hawarden's telephone rollout, he and his council (with the help of Ivan Webber, below) decided to fight the Court's decision and won.
Ivan Webber, who recently retired from the Ahlers Law Group in Des Moines, was instrumental in leading legal efforts to help Hawarden battle the Iowa Supreme Court for permission to be a phone company, for helping defend Spencer Municipal Utilities when it was taken to court to try to block its entry into telecommunications, and for general support and advice to all Iowa municipalities.
Picture
Picture
Cedar Falls Utilities, represented by Rob Houlihan, was recognized as being a "big brother" to Iowa's municipal broadband community. CFU's leadership by example and support for other communities has helped almost every Iowa municipal broadband company's efforts. That leadership continues today as CFU has opened its IPTV cable headend to co-ownership to Waverly Utilities, the City of Bellevue, and Indianola Municipal Utilities.
0 Comments

Workshop for Emerging Broadband Providers in September

5/26/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Mark Your Calendar!

Communities in Iowa that are in the planning or exploratory stages of a municipal broadband system are encouraged to attend a half-day workshop on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 at the IAMU Office and Training Complex in Ankeny. The workshop takes place the day before the IAMU Fall Broadband Meeting on September 20th.

Whether your community is just beginning to consider a community-owned broadband utility, or you are already well along in the process, this workshop will provide opportunities for networking with other Iowa telecom utilities to compare notes and discuss best practices.

Registration information will be sent later this summer so be watching Broadband Bytes and IAMU's Informer for more information!

0 Comments

Save the Date: Fall Broadband Meeting Sept. 20th

4/7/2017

0 Comments

 
The annual Fall Broadband Meeting for IAMU broadband utility representatives will be held on September 20, 2017 at the IAMU Office and Training Complex in Ankeny. This day-long event will include both educational topics and networking time.

If you have an idea for a session topic at the Fall Broadband Meeting, please email [email protected]. And keep watching for registration information coming this summer.
0 Comments

Power & Tel Tech Summit Coming In April

3/30/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Power & Tel is bringing it's Tech Summit to two locations in Iowa during the third week of April.

The first session of the summit will be in Cedar Falls on Tuesday, April 18th at the Hilton Garden Inn, 7313 Nordic Drive.  The event begins with breakfast at 7:30am, followed by several presentations throughout the day from ADTRAN, Amino & Innovative Systems, Comtrend, Commscope, Wireless Connections, Legrand, and EXFO. 

The central Iowa version of the Power & Tel Tech Summit will consist of two days of informational sessions and hands-on demonstrations on April 19th and 20th. The event will be at Stoney Creek Inn, 5291 Stoney Creek Ct. in Johnston.  The schedule begins at 7:30am each day with sessions from the same solutions providers as Cedar Falls.

CLICK HERE to download a flyer for the Cedar Falls summit on April 18th
CLICK HERE to download a flyer for the Johnston summit on April 19th & 20th.

To RSVP for either (or both) summits, email Mike Brems, [email protected].

0 Comments

Broadband Conference Survey

3/27/2017

0 Comments

 
If you attended the 2017 IAMU Broadband Conference, we want to hear from you! We've posted a survey on the conference at the following link:

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/3451767/2017-IAMU-Broadband-Conference-Attendee-Survey

Let us know what you thought of this year's show, and let us know what you think of the idea of moving the conference to a fall date beginning in 2018.
0 Comments

2017 IAMU Broadband Conference a Success!

3/25/2017

0 Comments

 
Thank you to everyone who attended the 2017 IAMU Broadband Conference on April 22nd and 23rd! We had a lot of positive comments from both attendees and vendors and we hope you all found it a valuable use of time.
0 Comments
    Picture
    Picture
    CBAN YouTube

    Broadband Bytes News

    Presented by the Community Broadband Action Network and curated by Curtis Dean.

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    ALLO
    Broadband
    CenturyLink
    Conduit
    Construction
    Dubuque
    Education
    FCC
    Feasibility Study
    Feedback
    Fiber
    Fiberhood
    Fort Morgan
    FTTP
    Grassroots
    IAMU
    Indianola
    Lawsuit
    Mediacom
    Meeting
    Municipal Broadband
    NCTC
    NMPP
    OTT
    Petition
    Provider
    SCTE
    Skinny Bundle
    Training
    Vinton
    VMVPD
    West Des Moines

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • News
  • About