Feb 11 Citizens Mutual Launches Gig Internet in Bloomfield

BLOOMFIELD, Iowa, Feb. 11, 2015 — Ahead of the curve. That has always been Citizens Mutual’s goal – and reality – when it comes to providing Internet to residents and businesses in Davis County. In a community where sometimes fashion, food, and other world trends tend to be a few years behind, technology has never been among them.

The community of Bloomfield gathered alongside state officials and local leaders to celebrate economic development and technology achievements in Bloomfield. Bloomfield was named one of Iowa’s “Connected Communities”, and Governor Terry Branstad was there to present the award.

“I am proud to be here and have this opportunity to be the first to say congratulations to Citizens Mutual and Joe Snyder,” stated Governor Branstad. “This is pretty significant to become a Gigabit community. This shows you that [Bloomfield] is really on the move and you recognize the kind of infrastructure you need to grow and create jobs and to have that connectivity that’s so critical to be competitive in this 21st century. Communities like Bloomfield are leading the way.”

The demand for faster, more efficient Internet is ever-growing with consumers owning more and more “smart” products, downloading larger files, and simply spending more time being “connected”. The competition for bandwidth is fierce, and Citizens Mutual has once again taken the position as leaders in rural Iowa to offer ground-breaking service city-wide.

How fast is Gig Internet? With yesterday’s top Internet speed of 20 Mbps, it took more than 30 minutes to download an HD movie. With today’s Gig Internet from Citizens Mutual, that same movie can be downloaded in less than 30 seconds.

“Looking at the statistics, only about 3% of the nation has Gig Internet, and most of those are major cities – beyond that, you’ll typically find it only offered within certain areas or limited to hand-selected business districts. The fact that we can offer this to the entire community is astounding. We’re proud to be in the position to do just that,” says Citizens Mutual General Manager Joe Snyder.

In place since 2007, Citizens Mutual’s existing fiber network has been the envy of other communities – not only on a local level, but nationally. “We believe this will be a game-changer for members of our community. Business and leisure both will be more accessible, and we’re automatically placed in a competitive position for entrepreneurs and young families looking to relocate. Our ability to offer this encourages our customers to know that we have the products, services and bandwidth they need today, tomorrow, next year, and beyond,” added Snyder.

CONTACT: Joe Snyder
General Manager
Citizen Mutual
641-664-2074
jsnyder@cmtel.com