Demonstrating a Customer-Focused Commitment
As we close out fiscal year 2025, we want to highlight the amazing work of the entire agency in fulfilling customer requests. When a customer requests a service or needs a quick fix, they submit a ticket, and various teams with ICN take care of it. This year was especially busy, with nearly 5,500 tickets managing to meet our customers' diverse needs.
More Than a Number: Breaking Down the Tickets
The volume of tickets we handled in Fiscal Year 2025 shows how active our Network is and how many different ways we provide support.
| Summary of Types of Support | # of Tickets for FY 2025 |
|---|---|
| Cases: Help Requests | 270 |
| Cases: Service Requests | 1,618 |
| Internal Incidents | 1,595 |
| Customer-Facing Incidents | 2,014 |
| Total | 5,497 |
Each of these categories represents a different type of our work. Help Requests typically consist of billing inquires, Domain Name Service (DNS) requests, or general questions. Our billing team is always ready to assist, and our Data Operations team can help if a customer can't reach a specific website.
Service Requests are for moves, adds, changes, and disconnects (MACD), initiated by an ICN employee or a customer.
Internal Incidents are issues we address before they can ever impact a customer. These might include monitoring our servers, managing HVAC or power at our sites, or tracking issues our field technicians find along our fiber routes. Our goal is to be proactive and fix problems before they become customer impacting. Our Internal Incidents graph breaks out the different aspects that define this category.
Finally, customer-facing incidents include a range of incidents reported directly by customers. These tickets can involve anything from on-net and off-net data services to our Managed Firewall Service and DDoS Mitigation service, a critical service for our 114 customers who rely on 24/7 monitoring to protect against cyberattacks. We also handle incidents related to both traditional and VoIP voice services. Our Customer-Facing graph breaks out the variety of incidents that define this category.
Customer Service is Everyone’s Job
Our customer-focused approach is evident across all areas of the ICN, from the staff at the NOC to Operations and Engineering, as well as our Inside Plant (TAC), Outside Plant, Facilities, and Business Services teams. Each team plays an essential part in providing customer support to guarantee the smooth operation of the Network.
Customer requests can vary widely, from a phone issue, bandwidth increase, to a service outage. Our 24/7, Iowa-based Network Operations Center (NOC) takes in all support requests, sorts them out, and routes the work to the appropriate ICN teams. They track problems, keep customers updated, and share feedback as it comes in. The NOC team is the core of customer interactions at ICN; not much happens that doesn’t go through them at some point.
Our Operations Division maintains the highest availability of voice and data (IP) services. Their objective is to minimize disruptions while managing moves, adds, changes, and maintenance of the Network. Our Outside Plant (OSP) team is responsible for the 3,400 miles of physical State-owned fiber cable. They handle everything from providing rerouting a network path for a customer to managing cable location requests and maintenance. They are also responsible for creating and maintaining all geographic information systems (GIS) data. Our Inside Plant team (TAC) provides work on structured cabling projects around the State and provides amazing customer service throughout Iowa, on the Capitol Complex, and when managing customers’ Firstnet sites.
Our Facilities team works behind the scenes to be proactive. They keep a pulse on the power, HVAC, and temperature alarms at over 1,500 sites to ensure the network is always running efficiently and to address issues before they ever impact a customer.
Beyond Technical Support
Customer service isn't just about technical fixes. Our Business Services division provides telecom consulting and manages projects and orders to support customers. They focus on generating revenue and ensuring a seamless experience from start to finish.
And we can't forget the financial side of things. Our Accounts Receivable and Collections team ensures we receive payments promptly to maintain cash flow, while our Billing group generates and distributes monthly invoices. They also provide direct customer support by answering billing questions.
Customer-focused Commitment
Our commitment to our customers has been a long tradition, and we have consistently provided outstanding service over the years. By officially adding ‘customer-focused’ to our agency’s goals, we are reinforcing that this dedication remains a vital part of the ICN's mission.
