IRON: Built on a Strong Charter Foundation
In 2007, a visionary group of eight organizations came together with a common goal—to serve Idaho’s non-profit community by closing the digital divide and establishing the state as a competitive player in education, research, and innovation. These founding Charter Associates recognized the critical need for high-speed, reliable, and secure broadband infrastructure to connect Idaho’s institutions to each other and to other national research and education networks like Internet2.
Founding Charter Associates:
- Boise State University
- Brigham Young University – Idaho
- Idaho Hospital Association
- Idaho National Laboratory (INL)
- Idaho State University
- State of Idaho
- University of Idaho
- Washington State University
Together, these forward-thinking partners established Idaho Regional Optical Network (IRON) as a non-profit grassroots initiative, unlike many regional optical networks that are state owned entities or are a part of state university systems. Their shared vision was to ensure that Idaho’s research, education, healthcare, and public institutions had access to the same world-class connectivity enjoyed in other parts of the country.
Why the Charter Matters
The Charter Associates brought more than institutional support—they contributed strategic leadership, technical expertise, and a long-term commitment to advancing Idaho’s digital future. Their collaboration laid the foundation for a resilient, high-capacity network that serves the entire state’s non-profit community.
The Charter’s influence continues to guide IRON’s mission:
- Unified Advocacy – Representing Idaho’s non-profit community collective interests as an independent broker of the facts to support the needs of Idaho’s constituents
- Collaboration & Shared Resources – Enabling joint efforts in research, health, education, and public services through shared infrastructure
- Cost Efficiency – Aggregating services for economies of scale and sustainable growth
- Regional Empowerment – Prioritizing sustainable economic development needs of rural and urban institutions and communities through equitable network access
Charter Impact Today
Because of the Charter Associates’ foresight:
- Idaho’s colleges and universities are seamlessly interconnected
- Researchers access INL supercomputing resources remotely for High-Performance Computing (HPC) operations.
- Public agencies and healthcare systems benefit from robust broadband infrastructure
- The network now operates on a 100G statewide backbone, while IRON continually evaluates industry trends to upgrade and meet future needs of its constituents
IRON remains committed to the original Charter vision—delivering innovative, high-performance connectivity that supports Idaho’s economic development, research prominence, and educational excellence for generations to come.