Network Upgrade 2026 | Geneseo Communications, Inc.

Big Network Improvements Coming in 2026

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

(Link: https://smartoptics.com/gt_cision_post/geneseo-builds-redundant-and-cost-efficient-core-with-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.

A message from our Central Office

Greetings ~

As Central Office Manager at Geneseo Communications, I want to sincerely thank you for your patience and understanding as we undertake what is likely one of—if not the—most significant network upgrades in our company’s history.

I’m excited to share that, as of our latest update, the communities of Annawan and Atkinson are now operating on our new network. This is a major milestone, and we’re proud of the progress we’ve made.

Migrating entire communities involves transitioning thousands of customer connections, VLANs, network services, and supporting infrastructure. A project of this scale naturally comes with challenges, and along the way we’re uncovering configurations and dependencies that were implemented many years ago by individuals who are no longer with the company. While these unexpected discoveries can occasionally require additional time to address, each one we resolve makes the new network stronger, more reliable, and better positioned to serve our customers for years to come.

We truly appreciate your continued patience and support as we complete this important investment in our network.

~ Ron Hartman, Central Office Manager, Geneseo Communications, Inc. 7.23.2026