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DartPoints has opened a new edge colocation data center in North Liberty that will improve access to web-delivered content via statewide broadband provider Aureon, municipalities and other local, municipal and regional telecommunication providers.
The facility was developed by Dallas-based DartPoints in cooperation with South Slope Cooperative Communications.
The edge colocation data center represents a $1-million-plus investment in Iowa, and is scalable to meet what are expected to be growing needs for data hosting closer to users, DartPoints Co-Founder Loren Long told the CBJ. He said bringing the apps and data closer to users in Iowa will help bridge the “digital divide” between rural communities and large tier one markets where most data centers are located, by addressing quality issues and carriage charges associated with moving data over long distances and multiple networks.
The timing of the opening is excellent, Loren added, as businesses and organizations rely heavily on accessing web apps, and schools will rely more on apps for distance learning on the web during the COVID-19 pandemic.
South Slope CEO Chuck Deisbeck called the opening “an important development for our communities, offering them an opportunity to achieve the same access, performance and network capabilities that adjacent markets receive today,” in a release.
The edge colocation data center is the first in Iowa for DartPoints. South Slope, Aureon and DartPoints are members of the Iowa Communications Alliance, which represents more than 120 community-based telecommunications providers serving rural communities.
Dave Duncan, the group’s CEO, and Scott Behn, Aureon CEO, praised the cooperative efforts, saying it will benefit all of the association’s members and the state as a whole.
“This could not have come at a better time,” Mr. Behn said. CBJ