Best Local Internet Service Provider: ImOn Communications

ImOn Communications

Jeff Janssen (right), vice president of sales and marketing for ImOn, and Brad Olson, a construction technician with ImOn, in a communications hub in Marion. PHOTO/IMON

Over the course of nearly 10 years with ImOn, Jeff Janssen said the biggest shift in the companyโ€™s focus has been clear: increased emphasis on high-speed internet, largely due to falling demand for cable television and the proliferation of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu.

โ€œWe used to lead with cable TV and start our discussion there,โ€ said Mr. Janssen, vice president of sales and marketing with ImOn. โ€œNow, itโ€™s almost always starting with the internet.โ€

According to the Leichtman Reseearch Group, the same shift in consumer demand seen at ImOn is happening throughout the nation. The New Hampshire-based research firm, said the countryโ€™s top pay-TV providers in the last two years lost about a half-million subscribers. During that same time frame, the top broadband internet providers added more than six million customers.

โ€œ[T]he bottom line for the pay-TV industry in the U.S. is that the market is saturated and in a slow decline,โ€ the group wrote in a first quarter 2016 research note. โ€œWith the broadband subscriber base increasing, a challenge going forward is how it will also continue to grow. Bringing broadband to later-adopters โ€ฆ and underserved populations is extremely important for providers and policy-makers alike.โ€

In addition to more customers seeking internet, theyโ€™re also seeking it at higher levels. Whereas customers once only used it on a dedicated computer, many homes now rely on the internet for functions like watching movies, playing games, listening to music and even video chatting. Enter gigabit internet, which under optimum circumstances, can be close to 80 times faster than the average U.S. high-speed internet connection of about 12 megabits per second.

In April 2015, ImOn rolled out one gigabit internet service to select customers in Cedar Rapids, Marion and Hiawatha, which was a significant mile marker in the race to keep up with consumersโ€™ demand for bandwidth.

โ€œThat growth has just been exponential over the last nine years, and thatโ€™s certainly the biggest change,โ€ Mr. Janssen said.

As the company expands its fiber optic network and makes inroads with emerging markets, ImOn also has experienced a recent upswing in business-to-business services.

โ€œOur strategy right now is to go with business,โ€ Mr. Janssen said. โ€œThatโ€™s where the highest demand has been and [itโ€™s] a good place to start. Certainly, we will look at expanding our service offerings in Iowa City as soon as we are able to be successful with business.โ€

Mr. Janssen said that newly constructed businesses using ImOn as their ISP are connected to the ISPโ€™s fiber-optic network, as opposed to the coaxial cable networks that share their connection with cable TV wiring. Most of ImOnโ€™s fiber internet network also is more reliable than cable internet connections, which are more prone to outages than their fiber counterparts.

โ€œItโ€™s a more reliable connection, and itโ€™s redundant, so if itโ€™s cut somewhere in the city, [the connection] automatically reroutes,โ€ Mr. Janssen noted.

Regardless of whether fiber cables are utilized by residential or business customers, Mr. Janssen said the companyโ€™s infrastructure investment is a response to customersโ€™ evolving media preferences and long-term habits.

โ€œWe know that cable TVโ€™s future is kind of up in the air with all the โ€˜over the topโ€™ content out right now, and itโ€™s not something we want to fight,โ€ he said. โ€œAll those devices will require an internet connection, and thatโ€™s what weโ€™re focused on.โ€

โ€“ Chase Castle

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