Cedar Falls Utilities (CFU) announced June 17, 2020 that 10 gigabit per second (Gbps) internet service is now available in Cedar Falls. Business and residential customers can upgrade to internet speeds that rank among the fastest in the world.

 

“We are the first city in Iowa to have 10 gigabit internet service available city-wide,” said Steve Bernard, Cedar Falls Utilities General Manager. “The upgrade is a community asset that supports innovation in business, education and government in Cedar Falls.”

 

In addition to updating the top internet tier to 10 gigabit, CFU has increased the capacity on all internet service tiers. CFU’s standard home and business internet speed is now 250 megabits per second. Most residential customers pay $45.50 per month for that service.

 

PC Mag recently recognized Cedar Falls Utilities as the fastest internet service provider in the country. PC Mag measures internet download and upload speeds with their PCMag online Speed Test. In 2020, CFU ranks first among providers measured, beating out large internet providers across the country.

 

Cedar Falls families are adding internet enabled devices to their homes quickly. More connected devices means that ultra-fast internet speeds will become increasingly important. CFU has designed the network for a community in which everything is connected and internet users expect to have access to the best of all experiences instantly.

 

“We know customer demand for bandwidth and connection speed will continue to grow,” continued Steve. “We view it as our job to offer a world-class communications network and get out of the way to see what our customers can do with no limitations.”

 

Most importantly, the business-ready infrastructure helps local companies succeed and positions Cedar Falls to compete nationally for new jobs and economic growth. The 10 Gig network is a platform built for innovation.

 

“This upgrade to 10 gigabit leads our ability to compete with the best cities in the world in terms of broadband availability, and puts us ahead of the curve for economic development opportunities,” said Shane Graham, Cedar Falls Economic Development Coordinator.

 

CFU 10 Gigabit Service Facts:

• The Federal Communications Commission officially classifies broadband as 25 megabits per second. A 10 gigabit connection is 400 times faster than that.

• 15 customers in Cedar Falls are connected to 10 gigabit service today. The cost for residential customers is $117 per month. The cost for business customers is $440 per month.

• The standard internet speed for Cedar Falls homes and businesses is 250 x 250 mbps. A list of all CFU internet service tiers is available at cfu.net/internet.

• From 2010 to 2013, the entire Cedar Falls community-wide broadband network was upgraded to fiber-to-the-premises, providing higher capacity and reliability. Today, the CFU Communications Utility is debt free.

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CFU Top Quality Internet Connection Named Best in US for Gaming

by PC Magazine - Eric Griffith December 10, 2020

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Earlier this year, PC Mag named Cedar Falls Utilities the fastest internet service provider in the country, beating out large providers across the U.S.

Now, our community-owned broadband network has earned another accolade from PC Mag – Best Gaming ISP for 2021.

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PC Mag does not use a speed index to compare internet service providers for the Best Gaming ISP award. Instead, they measure the quality of the connection. To do that they test the latency and jitter on the network. Latency measures the time it takes data to get to its destination and back. On a low latency network, when a gamer hits a button it registers with minimal lag. Jitter checks the consistency of the latency. When they compared the latency and jitter on networks across the country, CFU’s network came out on top.

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Those tech terms mean we have a high-quality network that moves your data without delay, all of the time. Our network in Cedar Falls has fast connections to the core of the internet at major hub sites across the Midwest.

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Gamers are not the only ones who need this type of network. Low latency also helps improve the quality of voice and video calls – Zoom anyone? Everyone in Cedar Falls gaming, learning and working from home this year has benefited from CFU’s fast, stable and well-connected network.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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ABOUT CFU:

The Cedar Falls Municipal Utilities provide water, natural gas, electricity, fiber optic internet, phone and cable television services to homes and businesses in Cedar Falls, IA. The Utilities are owned by the community, operated for public benefit and governed by a local citizen Board of Trustees.