iFiber’s Thorson in Broadband Webinar Aug. 10
iFiber’s Operations Director Marc Thorson will participate in a webinar titled “Broadband Technologies Overview,” Thursday, Aug. 10, from noon-1 pm. The webinar is part of the Illinois Broadband Lab Summer Webinar Series: Community Roles in Broadband and Digital Equity. It is hosted by 
the Illinois Office of Broadband; University of Illinois System; University of Illinois Extension; Benton Institute for Broadband & Society; and Illinois Broadband Lab. The webinar track is designed for local leaders, community stakeholders, and the general public who are looking to learn how to increase broadband access, adoption, and application in their communities. For information and registration, visit: https://extension.illinois.edu/events/2023-08-10-broadband-technologies-overview. In the Aug. 10 webinar, Thorson will explain iFiber’s status as an open-access network. This means the fiber optic cable iFiber owns and its network running across Northwest Illinois are available to any Internet, phone, and other service providers. This model lowers the barriers for any service provider to compete against much larger service provider companies. It allows those companies to invest more into the services provided. It also provides customers in the iFiber footprint to have more choices for service providers. Thorson is Executive Director for Regional Technology Services in Northern Illinois University’s Division of Information Technology (DoIT). He supports iFiber in his primary role of overseeing the operations and strategy execution for NIU’s support of iFiber. He oversees all aspects of NIU’s broadband, Internet service, and technology service offerings to communities, school districts, and other government and nonprofits organizations.