ICN invites all Iowa 10th - 12th grade high school students to apply for our Statewide Youth Broadband Advisory Council (SYBAC). This is an opportunity for students to discuss broadband/technology topics and learn about Iowa companies. ⭐ Apply Today!
ICN Assists the State Historical Building with Connections
In early March, following a vendor outage that disrupted connections to the elevator and fire panels, staff from the State Historical Building and the Iowa Department of Administrative Services (DAS) reached out to the ICN for assistance.
After the telecom 1FB circuits went down on a Thursday, the ICN team jumped into action, working on Friday to deploy a cellular solution. The deployed solution was operational just in time before the weekend, saving DAS from having to deploy staff on overtime covering approximately 63 hours to ensure there were no emergency situations during the weekend, since the primary system was down.
ICN Brings Redundancy to Three Regions of the State
The ICN successfully completed technology upgrades in three regions of Iowa. This aggregation upgrade involved enhancing specific locations with a dedicated 10Gb connection. The improvements are designed to safeguard essential infrastructure, ensuring redundancy and meeting the increasing bandwidth needs of users in public safety, healthcare, government, and education.
ICN's engineering team improved the following rural sites by installing new equipment in segments, completing a ‘daisy-chain’ approach:
In Central and Northeast Iowa there are four (4) aggregation sites upgraded between Highway 20 and Interstate 80. The locations include Newton, Marshalltown, Grundy Center, and Waterloo.
In Northeast Iowa there are six (6) aggregation sites upgraded at the locations of Tiffin, Cedar Rapids, Vinton, Independence, Oelwein, and Calmar.
In South Central Iowa there are four (4) aggregation sites upgraded between Interstate 80 and Highway 34. The locations include Newton, Pella, Oskaloosa, and Ottumwa.
On April 8, the ICN welcomed high school students from its Statewide Youth Broadband Advisory Council (SYBAC) to the Capitol Complex in Des Moines, IA. During the day, the students met with the ICN leadership, explored the stunning Capitol building, and interacted with the FIRST! Robotics displays in the rotunda.
After touring the Capitol, the students engaged with several elected officials on issues relating to cybersecurity, infrastructure, and technology. In addition, they were also invited to the floor of the House Chamber.
After the activities at the Capitol, the students headed back to the ICN office. They took the opportunity to ask the ICN team a range of questions about infrastructure, career paths, and coding. The students heard about the network operations and how the team uses interactive software for updates, reports, and alerts, which is essential for maintaining the network's efficiency. Additionally, they participated in discussions on how ICN oversees its private and secure network, manages peering connections, and adapts to support the critical infrastructure required in an ever-evolving tech landscape.
It's hard to believe it's already been a year since ICN teamed up with Zoom. Check out our original announcement on Telecompetitor to see how it all started.
So much has happened...let's revisit the excitement:
Rural Presence:The only FCC carrier in Iowa that touches and operates in every county. ICN has over 1500+ edge locations throughout the State.
Closed Network: This security advantage allows the ICN to control and secure access to the Network within its closed user group.
K-12 Education Updates
Free Resources
CISA has compiled a list of free services and tools provided by private and public sector organizations across the cyber community.
Partnering to Safeguard K-12 Organizations from Cybersecurity Threats reports on cybersecurity risks facing elementary and secondary schools and provides recommendations that include cybersecurity guidelines designed to help schools face these risks.
Utility engineers and crews have extensive experience in securing the nation’s power grid — some 120,000 miles of transmission lines operated by 500 companies and cooperatives — against natural disasters. Researchers and engineers in Iowa are working to ensure the system is safe from intentional sabotage by hackers.
Mercy College of Health Sciences is launching the public phase of a $15 million Legacy of Faith Campaign for the Joyce E. Lillis School of Nursing to build an innovative facility dedicated to nursing simulation and learning.
The Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) recognizes April 2025 as National 911 Education Month, and April 13-19 as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.
