US-based internet service provider Intelligent Fiber Network (IFN) has raised approximately $13m in funding from investors including electric utility Wabash Valley Power (WVPA) and several telecommunications firms.
Telecoms companies Heartland Innovations, Rochester Telephone Company, LightStream, Monon Telephone Company, Citizens Telephone Corporation, NineStar Connect and Enhanced Telecommunications also invested, having been part owners of the company prior to the deal.
Founded in 2002, IFN provides fibre-optic broadband to telecommunication providers, including its 20 owners, as well as hospitals, schools and government facilities.
In addition to making network upgrades, the new funding will help IFN gain access to new customers and extend its network to new areas. The company said the round represents its third fundraise, though it has not disclosed details of earlier funding.
Jay Bartlett, Wabash Valley Power’s president and CEO, said: “The digitisation of electricity networks through fibre-optic connection is an essential means of providing stable, cost effective power. Partnering with IFN provides us an opportunity to simultaneously connect and secure a complex electrical generation and transmission network.”