Des Moines Register: Google Fiber opened its only Iowa office and retail space in Valley Junction Thursday to welcome its first customers to its ultra-fast network. West Des Moines is one of 17 metro areas in the country and the only one in Iowa that will soon have access to a one- or two-gigabit fiber-optic internet, which is about 100 times faster than the average broadband connection. Some homes will be able to connect to Google Fiber as early as next week, depending on where they are located in the suburban city, said Andy Simpson, the company’s general manager of the central region. The staff at the Valley Junction location, on the ground floor of a new development at 329 Fifth St. next to St. Kilda, will help residents sign up and have representatives available to answer questions. For an update on the construction of the conduit network and the recent budget changes to the project, check out this Business Record story.