Slow Internet meets its Waterloo as 105Mbps comes to Iowa

Waterloo, Iowa isn't a name that conjures up visions of "blazing-fast Internet," but it's about to get the fastest residential connections in the country: 105Mbps. Located on a patch of wind-swept prairie, Waterloo is no high-tech haven; more typical are the surrounding farms, the John Deere plant, and a massive Target distribution center. Cable operator Mediacom is changing that perception, though, installing DOCSIS 3.0 gear that will boost the top-tier 20Mbps speeds in town up to 105Mbps, the fastest in the country. Not that it's fastest by much, of course; cable companies and Verizon have been locked in a tit-for-tat speed war for the last year or so. Cablevision is the current US champion, offering 101Mbps across the New York area.