WATERLOO — The first customers are hooked up to the new municipal fiber project, and they are raving about the switch.
Brent Gilmore and his family now use Waterloo Fiber. The Gilmores, who live on Sheridan Road, are one of four households participating in a test period for the new broadband network. The chosen customers will use Waterloo Fiber for a few weeks before deciding whether to switch or to stay with their current internet provider.
“Once (the testing period) is over, we’ll sign a contract and we’ll disconnect our Mediacom internet,” Gilmore said.
Gilmore said he’s used Mediacom for decades but was ready to be a guinea pig because he’s been anticipating the day Waterloo Fiber would be implemented. And he isn’t the only one.
Waterloo, Cedar Falls grappling with levy consolidation, caps
The creation of a municipal utility service in Waterloo was approved in a 2005 election, but at that time no funding was allocated. In a 2022 referendum, residents overwhelmingly approved a $20 million bond issue for municipal broadband. More than 6% of Waterloo’s registered voters participated in the election and the measure was passed with 84% approval.
People are also reading…
The bonds are backed by the city’s ability to tax its property owners, but the city plans to repay them with revenue generated by the broadband utility as well as revenues from utilities, sewer and storm water services.
Eric Lage, Waterloo Fiber’s general manager, said the implementation was a long time coming but the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the project.
Lage
“I really think when COVID hit, it kind of clicked with people that, ‘Oh, we need a better choice’,” he said. “I really think that the vote in ‘22 kind of reflected people’s experiences during COVID.”
Over the past year, the City Council approved multiple bids for construction and consulting as well as grants to help pay for the project. The total project will cost an estimated $115 million. Most of that money – nearly $78 million – will go to ITG Communications to build out the fiber network. The city has obtained close to $30 million in grant funding.
Steve Simon receives backlash for his campaign during first Waterloo council meeting
Although Gilmore isn’t paying for Waterloo Fiber yet, he expects his internet bill to be cut in half. He currently pays $114.99 per month for one gigabit of speed with 3,000 gigabits of usage. When he ran a speed test, he was averaging 50 to 150 megabytes per second – about 10% of the speed he pays for.
But it is still fast, comparable to the speed most people have.
A household on Sheridan Road in Waterloo is one of the first connected to Waterloo Fiber, the city’s new municipal utility, shown here Monday.
Maria Kuiper
With Waterloo Fiber’s test period, Gilmore is being guaranteed the same 1 Gbps speed for $69.95. Over the holidays, he and his son did a speed test and saw the WiFi speed was 950 Mbps to 1 Gbps. Gilmore’s son said it was faster than the connection he uses at the University of Iowa.
“Over New Years we had 10 people on different devices and we didn’t have any issues,” Gilmore said, noting people were on their phones, using streaming services and playing video games.
Downtown Waterloo CVS pharmacy closing at the end of January
Waterloo Fiber offers options of 100 Mbps, 300 Mbps, 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps. Lage said families would benefit from the higher packages while someone living alone could use the 300 Mbps speed. He thinks most customers will use 300 Mbps or 1 Gbps.
For just internet service, prices are $29.95, $49.95, $69.95 and $109.95 monthly, respectively. Waterloo Fiber will also offer phone and television services for higher costs. A residential internet, phone and TV package ranges from $86.95 to $223.95 monthly, depending on speed.
A household on Sheridan Road in Waterloo is one of the first connected to Waterloo Fiber, the city’s new municipal utility, shown here Monday.
Maria Kuiper
There will be a discounted rate for households qualifying for the Universal Service Administrative Company’s Lifeline program. Residents can use that program if their income is 135% or less than the federal poverty guidelines. If someone in a household participates in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, Federal Public Housing Assistance or Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit, they can receive 100 Mbps for $29.95.
Households using Lifeline can also receive a $30 per month subsidy, ultimately making internet for these households free. Eligible households must apply for the program through the Federal Communications Commission and contact Waterloo Fiber.
Lage said compared with other internet providers, Waterloo Fiber’s pricing is “transparent and straightforward.” He said many companies increase prices after a year of usage, which many people may not realize.
Developer unexpectedly pulls out of project to repurpose old Kmart
Another company, Metronet, is currently installing a fiber network in parts of the city.
Lage said Waterloo Fiber is “not sharing anything” with Metronet, but the company may have to dig up land where Waterloo Fiber has previously installed fiber optic cables to lay its own fiber, and vice versa.
Residents can identify which utility is being installed by the trucks and employees in their neighborhoods. Those affected by Metronet’s construction should receive notice 30 days in advance.
Waterloo Fiber is expected to finish work around Fire Station 6 in the Ansborough-Ridgeway neighborhood in February, and then move on to the San Marnan Avenue and Crossroads area.
Waterloo Fiber’s construction map is laid out in three phases. Phase one will be built out by the end of 2024, phase two by the end of 2025 and phase three by the end of 2026.
Work is being completed in three phases. Phase one, in south Waterloo, is expected to be finished by the end of this year. Phase two, in northeast Waterloo, should be finished by the end of 2025. The final phase in northwest Waterloo is expected to be finished by the end of 2026.
Lage said the most accurate way for a resident to find out when they will be hooked up to the new service is by calling the office at (319) 291-0175. Those interested can also register on their website, waterloofiber.com, to be contacted in the future about when services are available.
4 ways technology has changed employee training
4 ways technology has changed employee training
Employee training is a costly endeavor but a crucial one. Companies that invest in employee development are twice as likely to retain their employees as organizations that don’t, according to Gallup. So employee training is a boost to workers and the health and longevity of the company as well. But the key isn’t how much they spend—it’s the effectiveness of the lessons.
According to a 2022 Association for Talent Development survey, organizations spend about $1,280 per employee on training and workplace education every year. Organizations are increasingly looking to technology to accelerate learning and reduce costs, helping to make tech-based training a big market. Statista forecasts that the global e-learning market will reach nearly $400 billion by 2026.
Bonsai identified several ways technology has made employee training faster and more effective, based on news and industry reports.
Integrating innovative training methods may also aid in increasing workforce engagement—and an engaged workforce is a more profitable one. According to a 2018 Gallup study on employee engagement, organizations that do best at keeping employees connected to their work achieve four times more earnings-per-share growth. But most importantly, prioritizing employee training can help companies ensure their workforces remain agile and equipped to keep pace with the rapidly evolving digital age.
Continue reading to learn about the impact technology has had on training in the workplace
Assessments and tracking progress
Employee assessments do more than serve as benchmarks and guideposts for an employee’s learning objectives. They also provide insight into the effectiveness of an organization’s training programs. This information can help company leaders determine what skills need improvement across the firm’s workforce.
Integrating technology into the assessment process enables quicker or even real-time feedback. It also provides a platform for trainers and trainees to gain a broader view of learning objectives and progress. Virtual assessment tools also facilitate continuous learning, allowing employees to pick up their training from any location.
Videos and tutorials
Videos and tutorials can be a cost-effective method of employee training because they can be created once and used repeatedly. They also allow companies with multiple locations to standardize their training and achieve a unified understanding of company policies and procedures across sites.
Because videos and tutorials allow employees to review concepts at their own pace, workers can fully master them before moving to the next lesson. These records of methods and practices also prevent the loss of knowledge upon employee departure. Organizations have embraced these benefits.
Virtual training expert Cindy Huggett surveyed over 700 people from July to October 2021 for her annual “State of Virtual Training Survey”—91% of respondents reported that virtual training increased at their organizations in the two years leading up to the survey.
Personalized training and pacing
The integration of adaptive learning systems and learning management systems into employee training platforms has enabled more personalized learning and pacing. These systems can automatically adjust the difficulty and speed of training depending on the user’s needs and performance.
The effectiveness and applicability of personalized learning to all industries is reflected in its market growth: IndustryArc reports that the global personalized learning market is expected to exceed $2 billion by 2024. Artificial intelligence tools can track progress and offer personalized recommendations on further courses, depending on users’ skill needs and learning styles.
Simulations
Interactive simulations can provide employees with realistic environments to practice their job skills, which is especially useful for, and is gaining traction in, high-stakes fields such as health care professions. More advanced augmented-reality technologies can be used on the job to provide real-time guidance during work, allowing ongoing learning and reinforcement of key lessons.
These tools may also allow supervisory employees to monitor and assist workers more efficiently. Some simulators have features that make training feel more like a game, such as rewards and progress tracking, linked with increased user engagement.
Story editing by Jeff Inglis. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn.
This story originally appeared on Bonsai and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
Tyler Fields is your internet guru, delving into the latest trends, developments, and issues shaping the online world. With a focus on internet culture, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies, Tyler keeps readers informed about the dynamic landscape of the internet and its impact on our digital lives.
