A Kansas City, Mo.-based fiber optic company is expanding its Iowa network by eightfold by the end of the year.

“We are significantly expanding our footprint and making a long-term investment in Iowa,” said spokeswoman Brandi Tubb.

This marks Unite Private Networks’ first major expansion in Iowa, covering more than 700 miles. The company also is adding 600 miles of network in Nebraska. There’s another expansion in Colorado.

The Iowa project was prompted by a deal with one of the major wireless companies, as well as demand from government, data centers, hospitals and enterprise business customers, Tubb said. She declined to identify the clients or to disclose the project cost.

The company, which has an office in Des Moines, now has 100 miles of fiber in the state. It will have 800 miles by the end of the year. The new network will serve markets statewide, and will connect major metro areas, including Des Moines, Ames, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Cedar Falls, Iowa City and Davenport.

The company provides high bandwidth service to enterprise and government customers in 20 states.

Tubb said the project will provide approximately 200 construction jobs. The company has called it one of the larger fiber expansions in Iowa in recent years. The expansion started in September and initial sites in Des Moines were completed in December.

Unite Private Networks offers a variety of products, including Ethernet services from 10 megabits per second to 100 gigabits per second, wavelength services, Internet access and dark fiber, said Jason Adkins, senior vice president of sales and marketing.

Tubb said the company expects to continue expansions in Iowa driven by demand for high bandwidth services.