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Tag: iFiber
John L. Lewis
John L. Lewis, a champion of community engagement whose NIU career spanned nearly four decades, and whose work will live on through myriad economic development initiatives, died Friday, May 13, in Chicago. He was 71. Lewis retired from NIU in June of 2014 as senior research scholar for health and information technologies, a role in...
Eric Haan, district technology director for Eastland CUSD 308, has coordinated the district’s participation in the iFiber network since the project began in 2011.
Eric Haan believes in iFiber and the benefits made possible by the high-speed fiber broadband network, not just for his rural school district but for the entire northwest Illinois region. “The truth is, for as many uses as I can name now for the iFiber network, there are so many more we haven’t even thought...
Center for P-20 Engagement logo
Just weeks after receiving formal designation as an “Innovation and Economic Prosperity University,” NIU has received one of the nation’s top awards for regional economic development. The Association for Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) on Tuesday announced NIU as the winner of APLU’s inaugural “Place” award for “excelling in community, social, and cultural development work.”...
Logo of iFiber: Illinois Fiber Resources Group
Building on the success of its first regional conference on broadband and economic development held last November in Danville, Va., Broadband Communities will host its second regional conference from Tuesday, Nov. 5, through Thursday, Nov. 7, in Tinley Park. The conference will focus on the extraordinary experiences of dozens of communities in America’s Midwestern heartland,...
Logo of iFiber: Illinois Fiber Resources Group
A huge milestone in the iFiber project has been reached, board Chair John L. Lewis says. “Eighty percent of the Core Network is online transmitting at 100 gigabit speeds,” Lewis says. “This is cutting-edge technology, and the iFiber network is the first to deploy broadband speeds of 100 gigabits in this rural region.” The remaining...
Logo of iFiber: Illinois Fiber Resources Group
John Lewis, senior research scholar at NIU’s Regional Development Institute, moderated a panel of experts in the fiber optics industry May 30 at the DeKalb County Economic Development Corp. Broadband and Economic Development Technology Focus Luncheon. About 150 attendees learned about the importance of high-speed fiber and broadband to economic development in the region. Matthew...
Northwestern Illinois’ technological and financial future received another boost Monday as educators and state and local officials broke ground for the Lee County leg of the iFiber project at Sauk Valley Community College. Under sunshine and promises of jobs for generations, leaders such as Illinois State Sen. Christine Johnson (R-Shabbona) heralded the project, partnered with...
Logo of iFiber: Illinois Fiber Resources Group
Two additional contractors have been selected for the northwest Illinois project designed to bring a reliable high-speed broadband network to a nine-county region. Illinois Fiber Resources Group (iFiber), an Illinois not-for-profit organization, has selected Aldridge Electric, which partnered with Kelso-Burnett to provide a joint proposal to build the network throughout Boone, LaSalle, Ogle, Stephenson and...