Ever wonder what goes into keeping our State's critical infrastructure running smoothly? We recently released its Performance Report for Fiscal Year 2025, and the results show a dedication to solid reliability and ongoing improvements.
Click the button below to view a breakdown of the key numbers from the report.
Core Network Uptime: 100% Reliability
Network Speed: Faster Than the Industry Average: 3.325 milliseconds
Network Utilization: Consistent and Room to Grow at 25%
Equipment Upgrades: Strengthening the Foundation with 78
We're proud of our team's performance this year. These numbers prove our commitment to a reliable, high-speed, and modern critical infrastructure network for the citizens of Iowa.Â
In the demanding world of telecommunications and networking, reliability is everything. For service providers of Internet, data, and phone service, quality is measured by two main ideas: availability and network uptime.
While no network can promise 100% uptime, performance is judged by how close it gets to being perfect. A critical difference hides in the decimal points: the gap between a seemingly impressive 99% and the industry's 99.999% gold standard is far greater than it looks on paper.
A top-tier carrier aims for what's called "five nines" reliability, which is 99.999%. This high network availability is also defined as mission-critical.
The "five nines" ensure that when you need your Internet or phone, during an emergency, it's almost certain to be working. Those essential emergency communication services (such as 911 calls) and critical healthcare data transfers are almost certain to be working when they are most needed.
đź’ˇ ICN's core network has maintained 100% stable and reliable uptime since 2022.
The ICN is improving its Network by enhancing its critical infrastructure in Southeast Iowa.
We successfully completed an equipment upgrade in Burlington, Wapello, Washington, and Tiffin, providing a dedicated 10Gb connection at each of these key (aggregation) sites. This upgrade delivers greater redundancy and reliability to the local community entities that rely on the ICN—like hospitals, 911 services, and local schools. The new equipment allows Ethernet and IP services to travel over a redundant network.
ICN Marketing Intern Ben details his educational journey into cybersecurity, which began with infrastructure tours and a cybersecurity course. This preparation proved helpful at the Youth Cyber Summit, where he engaged in hands-on activities like hacking challenges and digital forensics. Now, through the ICN’s Statewide Youth Broadband Advisory Council (SYBAC), Ben is applying his communications skills to discuss technology topics, demonstrating Iowa's efforts to grow its future cyber workforce.
Over the past four months, our SYBAC students have successfully connected with top industry experts, fulfilling the program's main goal of providing valuable networking opportunities and exposure to technology careers.
A key part of the recent monthly meetings has been the valuable input from the students themselves: eight SYBAC members provided guidance by sharing interesting industry news and topics for the group to discuss. By sharing the news, the students have learned about research and leadership skills.
Hearing From the Experts: Highlights from SYBAC Monthly Meetings
SYBAC meetings feature technology leaders who share knowledge, discuss their contributions to the State, and offer career advice on essential abilities like teamwork and soft skills.
September: Ryan Mulhall, ICN Executive Director, discussed ICN's mission, encouraged curiosity, highlighted new tech career opportunities.
November: Matt Behrens, State of Iowa CIO, discussed closing the digital divide, utilizing BEAD funding, building new infrastructure statewide.
December: Doug Jacobson, ISU Professor, discussed cybersecurity history, types of adversaries and career paths, importance of Iowa's education programs.
This engaging series of speakers ensures SYBAC students are well-equipped with both technical knowledge and crucial career guidance as they navigate their future in technology.
In early December, ICN hosted Ankeny High School's Advanced Cybersecurity class.
These students learned about Iowa’s critical infrastructure with an immersive tour of our facility and the Broadband Information Center (BRIC).
While the technology is impressive, our discussion focused on the human element of cybersecurity and engineering. Technical skills get you the interview, but soft skills get you the job.
ICN extends our congratulations to former Governor of Iowa and U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad on receiving the prestigious Iowa Award.
The creation of the ICN, the state's fiber optic backbone, earned Iowa national and international recognition for being ahead of its time.
Former Governor Terry Branstad's early vision for technology and critical infrastructure continues to benefit Iowans today, providing the essential services needed for a connected future.
ICN serves as Iowa's essential Middle Mile provider, acting as the high-capacity backbone that links communities and institutions to the broader Internet.
Manila was enthusiastically nominated by her peers for her monumental work leading the agency-wide move from Windows 10 to Windows 11. She tackled this huge technical job with incredible patience, helpfulness, and a smile. She made complex device updates seamless for everyone.
Latest Industry & Broadband News
Southeast Polk was proudly represented at the Go Further STEM Conference at Iowa State University. Throughout the day, students connected with STEM role models, learned about STEM opportunities, and strengthened their confidence as future leaders in science, technology, engineering, and math.
Amana Care Clinic – Muscatine has expanded its telehealth platform to provide remote medical consultations for patients throughout Muscatine and surrounding Iowa communities. The enhanced service addresses growing demand for accessible healthcare alternatives while reducing unnecessary visits to traditional healthcare facilities.
For the last year and a half, life's been different for Adair County's EMS services.
In May of 2024, the old EMS station was completely destroyed by a devastating EF4 tornado. But Wednesday night [December 10] was the start of a new chapter: the opening of a brand new EMS facility.
The State Historical Society of Iowa announced a continuation of its partnership with Ancestry.com that expands public access to millions of archival documents at no cost to taxpayers. The agreement will allow the State Historical Society of Iowa and Ancestry to complete a new two-year project to digitally image materials and integrate more than one million additional records from the State Archives into Ancestry’s searchable database.
ICN's News and Updates Bulletin is your monthly source for everything happening with Iowa's critical infrastructure. Subscribe here to get it delivered directly to your inbox and catch up on key infrastructure projects, new services and customer stories, and telecom and security updates.
