Iowa Fiber Upgrades
Updated: Aug 29
ICN Completes Fiber Upgrades Across Northern Iowa for Enhanced Redundancy
Iowa Communications Network | February 9, 2026
The Iowa Communications Network (ICN) is improving its critical infrastructure in Northern Iowa.
ICN successfully completed equipment upgrades in Mason City, Hampton, Iowa Falls, Webster City, and Fort Dodge, providing a dedicated 10Gb connection at each of these key aggregation sites in Northern Iowa. This 10Gb upgrade in Iowa Falls and Webster City provides high-speed Internet for rural Iowa schools and ensures reliable connectivity for emergency services.
This upgrade provides a more dependable connection for the essential services our communities count on most, including hospitals, public safety telecommunications, and local schools. The new equipment allows Ethernet and IP services to travel over a redundant network.
To implement this project, ICN’s engineering team utilized existing "spare" fiber strands to create a failover daisy-chain link. The enhanced redundancy means that if the fiber is cut, the connection automatically reroutes through the backup links to keep services running. The hardware upgrade switched 24x1Gb connections to 24x10Gb connections, which is part of a larger network project that will enhance 156 aggregation sites. When all sites are upgraded, ICN will have a full 10Gb converged aggregation network throughout the State.
Upgrading the network strengthens both the customer experience and the resilience of Iowa’s critical infrastructure. ICN has completed upgrades at 100 locations thus far; work is currently progressing at 15 additional sites. These upgrades, which include the previously completed 100Gb core upgrade, are designed to future-proof the network against the increasing demands of emerging technologies.
Photo Credit: ICN
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