IQ Fiber has flipped the switch on its $50 million investment into Gainesville, turning on its fiber optic network for customers.  

The company, based in Jacksonville, opened its technical operations center in October 2023 and said customers would start coming online in the first part of 2024.  

IQ Fiber will hold a Gainesville Fiberhood celebration on May 6 to mark the official beginning of its services.  

“We are excited to launch our Gainesville network and bring the first modern, reliable and customer-friendly internet choice to the community,” said Ted Schremp, CEO of IQ Fiber, in a press release. “In just two years, we have established a significant presence across our home in North Florida and delivered on our promise to simplify and deliver a personal customer experience in a way that no other provider has been able to achieve.”   

Schremp told Mainstreet in October that Gainesville is an underserved area for fiber options. He added that the Gainesville City Commission’s discussions about starting a municipal broadband service caught the company’s eye when looking at expanding. 

Since then, Pavlov Media also announced in March that it would bring fiber service to Gainesville. The company had already blanketed the area with mysterious advertisements asking, “Are you in the dark.” 

Pavlov Media has worked in the Gainesville market for 10 years but has stayed around the UF campus. The company is currently building out its fiber network across northwest Gainesville.