Networking & Wireless

Santa Fe Public Schools Expands Optical LAN Deployment

• By Leila Meyer
• 01/22/15

Santa Fe Public Schools (SFPS) has expanded its deployment of a fiber-based LAN to seven additional schools.

Following a successful implementation of the Optical LAN solution from Tellabs at Ramirez Thomas Elementary School during the 2013-2014 school year, the district has expanded its implementation to seven more schools this school year. The fiber-based optical LAN "converges voice/VoIP, data, video, Wi-Fi, security and other services onto a single fiber and centralizes all network management functions," according to information from Tellabs. Students and teachers at the schools use the high-speed network to access digital learning technologies and online resources.

IT Connect, an information technology systems integration company, implemented the Tellabs Optical LAN solution at SFPS. According to a news release from Tellabs, deploying the fiber-based network rather than upgrading its copper-based infrastructure saved the district $60,000 in one school alone and eliminated the need for seven communication closets. The district invested the savings in a new classroom.

"With Tellabs Optical LAN, we built a network infrastructure that has it all — it's simple, flexible, sustainable and cost effective," said Elias Bernardino, executive director of the SFPS technology department, in a prepared statement. "Tellabs Optical LAN enabled us to leverage existing IT resources and reduce costs, and then apply those savings to investments in other areas of education."

Santa Fe Public Schools is located in Santa Fe, NM, and serves approximately 14,000 K-12 students at 35 schools.

SFPS and Tellabs will be at at FETC, an educational technology conference and tradeshow in Orlando, for a session called "Improve Digital Learning Environments by Going Against the Mainstream" on Friday, January 23 at 2:00 p.m.