What's New
Report Shows High-Speed Internet Access Grows in Iowa
Customers in nearly 93 percent of Iowa's communities now have access to high-speed Internet service, according to an Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) report released on . It is the fifth time the IUB has surveyed the state's availability of high-speed Internet service and the January 2006 data used in this report indicates continued growth in Iowa.
More than 300 service providers of various high-speed Internet technologies were surveyed including incumbent and competitive local exchange carriers, cable companies, wireless, and satellite providers. More Iowans have access to some form of high-speed Internet service because of the expansion of options such as Digital Subscriber Line, cable-modem, wireless, and/or satellite technologies. This is due in part to concerted efforts by the IUB and the Iowa Legislature to promote Broadband deployment in Iowa.
This latest assessment report demonstrates that at least one type of high-speed Internet technology is available in 918 rural (95 percent) and 226 non-rural (84 percent) Iowa communities, although residents may not all have access to particular technologies. That is up from 679 rural (72 percent) and 199 (73 percent) non-rural communities having access in the 2004 report and 246 rural (28 percent) and 111 non-rural (42 percent) communities in the 2000 initial report. Communities with populations of less than 2,500 are considered rural in the IUB assessments.
The May 2005 report, "Assessing High-Speed Internet Access in the State of Iowa: Fifth Assessment," and the four previous reports are available electronically on the IUB web site, www.state.ia.us/iub. Industry projections from the 2004 Fourth Assessment estimated that 789 rural and 203 non-rural communities would have high-speed Internet access before the fifth assessment. Actual overall growth greatly exceeded those projections.
___________________________________________
For more information on items in this section contact:
Ann Foster, IAEC Director of Communications, (515) 727-8945 or afoster@iowarec.org.
More than 300 service providers of various high-speed Internet technologies were surveyed including incumbent and competitive local exchange carriers, cable companies, wireless, and satellite providers. More Iowans have access to some form of high-speed Internet service because of the expansion of options such as Digital Subscriber Line, cable-modem, wireless, and/or satellite technologies. This is due in part to concerted efforts by the IUB and the Iowa Legislature to promote Broadband deployment in Iowa.
This latest assessment report demonstrates that at least one type of high-speed Internet technology is available in 918 rural (95 percent) and 226 non-rural (84 percent) Iowa communities, although residents may not all have access to particular technologies. That is up from 679 rural (72 percent) and 199 (73 percent) non-rural communities having access in the 2004 report and 246 rural (28 percent) and 111 non-rural (42 percent) communities in the 2000 initial report. Communities with populations of less than 2,500 are considered rural in the IUB assessments.
The May 2005 report, "Assessing High-Speed Internet Access in the State of Iowa: Fifth Assessment," and the four previous reports are available electronically on the IUB web site, www.state.ia.us/iub. Industry projections from the 2004 Fourth Assessment estimated that 789 rural and 203 non-rural communities would have high-speed Internet access before the fifth assessment. Actual overall growth greatly exceeded those projections.
___________________________________________
For more information on items in this section contact:
Ann Foster, IAEC Director of Communications, (515) 727-8945 or afoster@iowarec.org.
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