Mansfield ISD Deploys Fiber Optic Network

Mansfield Independent School District in Texas is implementing an all-fiber optic network to provide its 33,000 students and 4,200 staff members with data, video and voice service.

According to Sean Scott, assistant superintendent of technology and information services for Mansfield ISD, the upgrade was driven by the district's "increasing reliance on virtual computing, the growth of mobile computing and state online assessments, and reliance on cloud-based instructional resources."

The district signed a multi-year agreement with Conterra Broadband Services, a North Carolina-based provider of private fiber optic broadband networks, which has already entered contracts with several other Texas school districts, including El Paso ISD, Judson ISD, Tyler ISD and South San Antonio ISD.

Conterra will connect all of Mansfield's schools and administrative facilities with the Mansfield ISD Data Center using a 10 gigabit fiber optic network, which will deliver dedicated 1 or 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) to each facility. When the private network is completed in early summer of 2016, it will be scalable to 100 gigabits per location without the need for any further construction.

In addition to implementing the network, Conterra will also monitor, manage and support the network to ensure performance and reliability.

Scott said he expects the private fiber optic network to meet the district's technology needs well into the future and to help the district meet its educational goals, which include integrating technology into the curriculum, instruction and assessment to improve academic achievement and technological literacy.

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