Networking

New Jersey District Overhauls Network To Boost Access to Learning Tools

• By Scott Aronowitz
• 02/26/10

Denville School District of Denville, NJ, is looking to boost its network capabilities and expand access to technology in its classrooms by overhauling its telecommunications infrastructure.

The district said it's moving to Optimum Lightpath as its new telecommunications provider in an effort to improve bandwidth and capacity and realize cost savings.

DSD, which enrolls about 2,300 students in grades pre-K through 8, sought to increase its bandwidth and better utilize classroom technology, both for the benefit of its students and teachers, and to comply with the New Jersey Department of Education's new standards on integrating technology across the curriculum and in the education process.

"We needed substantially more bandwidth at a reduced cost to more effectively incorporate technology into the teaching and learning experience, and Optimum Lightpath delivered," said John Seripligia, business administrator, Denville Board of Education. "As a result of the switch, we can make the learning experience much more interactive, incorporating podcasts, more heavily utilizing the Internet for research, supplementing lesson plans with limitless information from the outside world--and this is just the beginning. Additionally, our back office systems and software run much more smoothly and we can consider a host of new options for additional software and applications that help us better connect parents, teachers and students."

The company worked with DSD to replace its existing 10 megabit TLS network and 6 megabit ISDN PRI solution with a GigE managed private fiber wide area network (WAN) and Internet/voice package. The new network has given the district 47 megabits of speed while allowing it to realize about $50,000 in annual savings.

Bill Owens, district technology coordinator, said Optimum Lightpath "worked around our timeframe and executed with precision for a flawless rollout that was completely seamless from a faculty and student perspective."

Denville is a part of Denville Township, located approximately 35 miles east of New York City. Optimum Lightpath specializes in Ethernet solutions for businesses and organizations in the New York Metropolitan Area.