IQ Fiber Announces Network Deployment in Gainesville Florida

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., May 31, 2023 – IQ Fiber, Northeast Florida’s only local residential fiber-optic internet service provider, announces it is expanding its 100% fiber-optic network to North Central Florida including the city of Gainesville. IQ Fiber’s initial investment in Gainesville is estimated at nearly $40 million. IQ Fiber will be the first locally based residential fiber-optic company to enter the Gainesville market.

“It has always been a policy priority of mine to extend broadband competition in our community,” said Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward, Jr. “I’m pleased to see IQ Fiber expanding into the Gainesville market, and I hope their presence here will create a variety of opportunities for all our neighbors.”

Headquartered in Jacksonville, IQ Fiber is deploying its network across Duval, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties. The North Central Florida expansion marks the company’s first major network expansion outside of the Jacksonville metro region. The company will establish a satellite office in Gainesville and hire over 30 employees to support the expansion.

“We are excited to expand our network across North Florida so that Gainesville and Alachua County residents will finally have a modern internet choice,” said Ted Schremp, CEO of IQ Fiber. “Our 100% fiber-optic network delivers the reliability and ultra-fast symmetrical speeds that residents and neighborhoods need along with a streamlined customer experience they deserve.”

IQ Fiber’s 100% fiber-optic network is capable of symmetrical speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second and is far superior to telephone or cable-based internet. The network consists of underground conduit and fiber-optic cables extending from the core internet backbone directly into individual homes, allowing for the fastest internet speeds available while supporting the explosive growth in internet usage and demand. Construction on the Gainesville and Alachua County network will begin this summer.

IQ Fiber offers simple month-to-month rates with no fees, surcharges or surprise price increases. IQ Fiber delivers symmetrical speeds along with whole-home Wi-Fi service and a simple app to manage the ever-growing number of Wi-Fi devices in the home.

IQ Fiber, headquartered in Jacksonville, is bringing high-speed, state-of-the-art 100% fiber-optic internet to areas of North Florida that do not currently have access to modern, symmetrical broadband services. IQ Fiber is privately funded and launched in August 2021. It recently announced an additional $150 million in follow-on equity funding.

About IQ Fiber

IQ Fiber is North Florida’s only local fiber-optic internet service provider. Headquartered in Jacksonville, IQ Fiber is transforming the residential broadband market by offering a 100% fiber-optic network with a stress-free guarantee: no contracts, hidden fees, or data caps. Its network is supported by live, local customer service. IQ Fiber is focused on rapidly expanding its residential fiber network across Alachua, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns Counties. For more information, visit www.iqfiber.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

The internet is the heartbeat of the modern home. We’ve come to rely on it for work, education, entertainment, and shopping. Fiber is the best solution to provide internet because it is:

FAST — 1000 mbps (1G) of speed with fiber internet is about 20 times faster than standard cable. Your time is valuable, so don’t waste it waiting for your internet to load!
RELIABLE — IQ Fiber provides dedicated bandwidth directly to your home, so your speeds don’t dip during peak traffic hours or as more neighbors join the Fiberhood.
SYMMETRICAL — Only fiber has symmetrical upload and download speeds so no matter what you’re doing, you can get it done quickly.
FUTURE-PROOF — Fiber cables are more lightweight, durable, and resilient than copper. Its bandwidth capacity far exceeds what any home requires, so we’ll grow with you as technology changes in the future.
SUSTAINABLE — Traditional cable uses about 12 times more energy than fiber. It generates less heat and is made from more sustainable materials.

Symmetrical speeds are when upload and download speeds are equal. Older mediums like cable and DSL are asymmetrical, meaning you aren’t able to upload data as quickly as you can download it. When your speeds are symmetrical it means video calls work better, video games play faster, and your photos upload in an instant.

Fiber-optic networks are built to transmit data through a thin fiber glass strand using pulses of light. Because each strand is dedicated to each home, there is no sharing of bandwidth between neighbors. In addition, fiber-optic networks need very little electrical power to operate. The data is transmitted at the same speed to the home as it is away from the home with very little lag. Fiber-optic networks are the fastest and most reliable home internet technology available today.

5G is a form of wireless broadband delivered using nearby cell towers while fiber-optic internet is connected directly to your home. FTTH (fiber to the home) connections provide dedicated bandwidth while a 5G shares bandwidth with your neighbors. Though 5G wireless is great for mobile devices when you aren’t home, fiber-optic is much faster and more reliable to use for the many connected devices within your home.

Yes. In most cases you will be able to keep your existing services. However, once you move to our services, you’ll have enough speed and bandwidth to manage all your services over the internet. It’s also easy to move to a voice-over-internet-protocol (VOIP) service like Google Voice or Vonage where you can keep your phone number. You always have the option to remove your home phone altogether in favor of using your cell exclusively instead. Most national security monitoring companies offer “cut the cable cord” services with faster response times than a landline can offer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s so special about fiber-optic internet?

What is a symmetrical internet connection?

How does fiber-optic internet work?

How is fiber different from wireless 5G? Is it better?

Can I keep my existing TV, phone, and security services?