We’re making a major investment to improve the reliability, speed, and long-term stability of our network.
Our companies—Geneseo Telephone Company, Geneseo Communications Services, Inc., Cambridge Telephone Company, Cambridge Telecom Services, Inc., and Henry County Telephone Company (together referred to as GCI)—have selected new network equipment from Arista Networks and Smart Optics to replace parts of our aging regional network.
This upgrade includes new, fully redundant equipment installed at nine network locations across Illinois and Iowa: Geneseo, Green River, North Green River, Milan, Moline, Bettendorf, Cambridge, Kewanee, and Atkinson.
What This Means for Customers
These improvements will:
- Increase overall network reliability and resiliency
- Reduce the impact of outages by adding geographic diversity and route redundancy
- Expand network capacity to support higher speeds and future growth
- Allow flexible connections ranging from 1 Gb up to 100 Gb where needed
All new equipment is already installed and powered on. It is currently being carefully monitored and tested, with a small amount of live traffic running on the new network. Our goal is to complete the transition for all customers by mid-to-late 2026.
For more information about the network upgrade:
Geneseo builds redundant and cost-efficient core with Smartoptics | Smartoptics
Planned Maintenance in 2026
Moving customers from the old network to the new one will take time and must be done carefully. During this process, there may be occasional overnight service interruptions as connections are transferred and verified. We appreciate your patience and anticipate any service interruption to be brief. Not all areas will be affected for each maintenance window.
To minimize disruption, GCI is introducing standard maintenance windows beginning in February 2026. These windows are not always used, but they give us designated times to safely perform upgrades when needed.
Recurring Maintenance Window Options
Beginning February 3, 2026 (no end date)
- Tuesdays: 12:00 AM – 6:00 AM
- Thursdays: 12:00 AM – 6:00 AM
When maintenance is required, we will make every effort to:
- Use these overnight windows
- Limit the impact to affected areas only
- Provide advance notice whenever possible
In emergency situations—such as fiber cuts or unexpected equipment failures—work may need to occur outside of these windows.