Liberty Communications Invests Millions in Fiber Internet Expansion for Southeast Iowa

Liberty Communications Invests Millions in Fiber Internet Expansion for Southeast Iowa

Fairfield, Mount Pleasant, and Centerville, Iowa, August 15, 2023 — Liberty Communications Corp., one of Eastern Iowa’s fastest growing broadband providers, recently announced a $5 million network expansion project to improve high-speed internet access for rural southeast Iowans.

During their 2022 acquisition of Natel Broadband, Liberty Communications committed to continued investment in the 12 counties formerly served by Natel. Liberty is delivering on that promise with a network expansion that will improve fiber connectivity for residents of Fairfield, Mt. Pleasant, and Centerville, funded privately through a $5 million investment approved by the Liberty Board of Directors.

“Our purchase of Natel opened the door to new, exciting opportunities to better serve rural Iowans,” said Jon Kenney, Natel General Manager. “This investment represents our commitment to deliver the high-speed, reliable connections our neighbors need to thrive and achieve their dreams. In rural America, expanded access to broadband internet means so much more than faster downloads and better streaming; it has far-reaching impacts on health, economic development, and education—and ensures these areas never fall behind.”

Plans for Fairfield include major upgrades to improve quality, redundancy and reliability of the network while bringing fiber connectivity to more customers and Multi-Gig speeds. In Mt Pleasant, efforts will be focused on targeting up to 80 new businesses with next gen fiber connectivity.

But the vast majority of the work will happen in Centerville—a small town that has historically been underserved when it comes to fiber broadband. With support from local

government and county leaders, Natel aims to support the town’s growth by building a new Next Gen Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network, which will deliver Multi-Gig speeds to every resident and business within city limits. Mainline construction will begin in the coming months with customer installs expected to begin in 2024.

On top of the sizeable fiber investment, Natel is also working on a fixed wireless expansion benefitting up to eight counties in rural southeast Iowa, including Jefferson and Appanoose counties. With a total project cost of nearly $5 million, this project aims to deliver broadband internet to high-need areas that have previously been underserved.

Both the fiber and fixed wireless projects are expected to begin late summer 2023, with construction picking up significantly throughout 2024- potentially adding as many as 12,000 new homes and businesses to the network by spring of 2025.

About Liberty Communications

Liberty Communications is a family-owned independent broadband and telephone company serving the communities of West Branch, West Liberty and their surrounding areas with phone, Internet and Digital TV service since 1907. In 2022, Liberty Communications acquired Fairfield-based Natel Broadband and now serves their fiber and fixed wireless customers as Elevation Broadband. For more information, visit www.libertycommunications.com or www.natel.net.

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