BURLINGTON, IA – Acting on its commitment to help schools and libraries realize their best return on federal funds to subsidize ultra-fast Internet connections in classrooms and libraries, Mediacom Business revealed details about providing affordable 1 gigabit broadband service to one of the largest school districts in the region, Burlington Community School District (BCSD).
In preparing for the return of 4,000 students to the district’s 15 individual locations this fall, William Brackett, supervisor of technology for BCSD, said he faced extensive bandwidth needs to handle the sheer volume of individual users seeking Internet access simultaneously.
Ready-to-Scale Bandwidth for Students and Teachers
“Right now, students in grades 6 through 12 have a device, and next year it will be grades 3 through 12,” said Brackett. “That’s why it’s important to have a pipe with bandwidth that is ready to scale for our students and teachers. Mediacom Business came to us with their Gigabit+ Fiber Solutions and I’m confident this 1-Gig service will meet, and exceed our needs.”
Brackett reflected on a well-known past initiative in Iowa called the Decorah Eagle Cam, when students and teachers alike watched streaming video 24 hours a day of a bald eagle hatching eggs. He said every classroom across his district was streaming this event simultaneously, and crashing the system as a result.
An Infrastructure that Supports Innovation in Education
“Events like this emphasized to the district that we needed high-capacity bandwidth so every school day could be a day to access events and information from around the world without interruption,” Brackett continued. “The infrastructure provided by Mediacom Business is transparent to our students and teachers. They no longer have to wonder if they can get online or not, and having this infrastructure will allow our teachers to experiment and try new things.”
Assistance from FCC E-Rate Plan
Mediacom Business leveraged its existing fiber infrastructure connecting all 15 BCSD locations, according to Dan Templin, senior vice president of Mediacom Business. “The already-built network, combined with new E-rate funding, gave BSCD an extremely affordable opportunity to scale their broadband to 1-Gig, and also accommodate future growth,” said Mr. Templin. “As a cloud-based school district, it was also critical that the BCSD have a network that was powerful and reliable to connect to the cloud.”
Mr. Templin explained that the federal subsidies available to schools and libraries for broadband expansion are part of a plan administered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) known as E-rate. “Because of this FCC initiative, it’s estimated that 10 million students and teachers will be connected to the Internet next year who otherwise would not be online,” stated Mr. Templin. “Mediacom Business has the experience, certifications, and expertise to support these E-rate initiatives in the communities we serve.”
