DATE: July 7, 2023
BY: Maria Kuiper, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
URL:
https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/government-politics/general-manager-appointed-waterl
oo-fiber-utility/article_677c87ec-1c1e-11ee-a71f-bb63ed1f0287.html
WATERLOO — The city’s municipal fiber internet project is moving forward with the
appointment of a general manager and the announcement of a new website.
Eric Lage will be general manager of telecommunications for the Waterloo Fiber Internet utility.
Lage served as the general manager of Reinbeck Telecommunications Utility for nine years.
RTU provides the city with cable, phone, internet and wireless internet. Under his leadership,
RTU expanded service throughout the community and surrounding area.
He has knowledge and experience in broadband technologies, project management, broadband
sales and marketing. He also serves as a board member of the Iowa Heartland Chapter of the
Society of Cable Television Engineers.
Lage has a degree from Hawkeye Community College in civil and construction engineering
technology.
“Eric Lage’s resume and experience are impeccable,” Mayor Quentin Hart said in a news
release. “We look forward to him leading Waterloo Fiber Internet into the future.”
The project’s board chair, Andy Van Fleet, said Lage was a “stand out candidate” due to his
operational and management successes in municipal telecommunications.
The city also rolled out the Waterloo Fiber website at waterloofiber.com. Residents can sign up
on the website to receive updates as the service launch date approaches this fall.
The project will create a network encompassing hundreds of miles of fiber internet that offers
ultra-high-speed service. The utility will be available city-wide, offer up to 10 gigabyte speeds
and provide Waterloo-based customer service. The internet bill would be bundled with the
existing utility bill.
