Secure, Reliable Network Provides District with Infrastructure to Make Schools Safer Along with a Framework for Digital Learning
Atlanta, GA – June 11, 2024 – FiberLight, LLC, a company with more than 20 years of experience in designing, building and operating mission-critical, high-bandwidth networks, announced the successful deployment of an 80 mile dark fiber network expansion to the Ector County Independent School District (ECISD). FiberLight completed this network in partnership with Netsync, a specialist in wireless, storage, network infrastructure, and unified communications.
Together, the companies have enabled ECISD to fulfill its mission to prepare its students for success in an ever-changing society and provide a reliable infrastructure for critical school safety initiatives. Based in Odessa, Texas, ECISD serves the communities of West Odessa, Gardendale, Goldsmith, and rural areas of Ector County with 44 instructional facilities across a 900 square mile area, and serves 33,500 students from early education programs and kindergarten through 12th grade.
“One thing we’re focusing on this year is school security, and all of our cameras and digital door access points rely on our network,” said Kellie Wilks, Chief Technology Officer for ECISD. “When we talk about technology upgrades parents don’t understand where fiber is and why. They just want to know that their kids are safe and secure and have the opportunity for a great educational experience. We’re able to live up to our commitment because that fiber is in the ground, our online services are up, and our network is resilient.”
For the ECISD project, FiberLight designed a loop so that if there was a cut to the dark fiber, traffic could be rerouted to ensure redundancy. To future-ready ECISD’s data initiatives as the district’s demands for bandwidth and latency grow, FiberLight partnered with Netsync, one of the preeminent technology solutions providers for K-12 schools. Netsync delivered Optical Network WAN infrastructure and expertise as a core component that will scale to meet the growing operational needs of the district.
“Netsync is proud to partner with FiberLight on this project to deliver next-generation infrastructure to Ector County’s school community,” said David Ireak, Practice Manager – Global Infrastructure, Netsync. “Together, we’re enabling ECISD to transform the digital learning experience, ensure uptime, and provide a secure network to support the district’s safety protocols.”
FiberLight and Netsync worked with ECISD to secure grants from the Texas State Legislature’s matching funds and the FCC’s E-Rate program, which helps expand broadband access for school districts. Having worked extensively with school districts throughout Texas, FiberLight and Netsync tapped their expertise to help ECISD secure funding for the network buildout and eligible equipment.
“From Amarillo to Ector County and across Texas, FiberLight has created diverse and resilient dark networks for school communities that are committed to preparing students for success in our rapidly changing world,” said Ron Kormos, Chief Strategy Officer of FiberLight. “We look forward to building on our success with ECISD and ensuring that they have the flexibility, scalability and reliability needed to grow and thrive well into the future.”
FiberLight and Netsync began working with ECISD in 2016 after winning an RFP to build out a private dark fiber network that would scale to meet the growing operational demands of the forward-looking district. The project neared completion in 2019, just as the COVID pandemic tested the bandwidth and reliability of the network. As students, teachers, and staff transitioned to online learning, FiberLight’s infrastructure provided the ECISD school community with dependable network accessibility and enabled the district to promote digital literacy for students and their families. As students returned to in-person learning, ECISD recognized that the network also provided critical infrastructure for school safety as all of its phone systems and cameras are IP-based and run through its data centers.
To learn more about FiberLight’s dark fiber solutions, visit http://x1av.zo23.com/fiber-services/dark-fiber/.
About Netsync
Netsync is a comprehensive technology solutions and services provider with extensive experience integrating next-gen infrastructure solutions to digitally transform organizations, including Enterprise, State and Local, Education, Financial, Healthcare, and Energy customers. As a premier distribution channel of Radware, Cisco Gold Master Partner, Okta Select, and Dell/EMC Platinum Partner, Netsync is reimagining the way we do business, building a digital future for clients today and our children tomorrow.