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Pickens County schools, businesses celebrate faster internet

Staff Report //October 31, 2019//

Pickens County schools, businesses celebrate faster internet

Staff Report //October 31, 2019//

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The School District of Pickens County has completed special a project on a multi-year agreement with Conterra Networks to deploy an all fiber optical network to support the data, video and voice requirements of its schools.

Pickens County schools now have internet service that is up to 100 times faster, and county businesses soon will have access to a new internet infrastructure through the school district’s partnership with Conterra Networks, according to a news release.

Conterra Networks, based in Charlotte, is a provider of managed fiber-based, carrier-grade telecommunications solutions for schools, healthcare providers, telecom carriers, municipalities and enterprises that require bandwidth intensive, network connectivity and internet services.

The district will celebrate the completion at a ceremony at 11 a.m. on Monday at Clemson Elementary School. Industry and education partners associated with the fiber build, including Clemson University, will be at the ceremony, the release said.

“We are thrilled we are able to give our students a network that is up to 100 times faster than our existing network without spending additional dollars,” Danny Merck, Pickens County Schools superintendent, said in the release. “By rethinking how we spend existing funds and taking advantage of E-rate, we are bringing money Pickens’ residents pay in their phone bills back to the county’s students.”

The project was funded in large part by the Federal Communications Commission E-rate program through telephone fees. The primary goal of E-rate “is to ensure affordable access to high-speed broadband in schools and libraries,” the release said. The remaining funds came from existing district dollars.  Merck said the district allocated money spent on the existing network toward the project.

In technical terms, the fiber optical network provides 10 gigabit connectivity to each Pickens County school and is scalable to 100 gigabits with no additional construction. Previously, the district had 100 megabits at most elementary schools, 500 megabits at most middle schools and a single gigabit at most high schools, according to the release.

“Conterra Networks is building over 100 miles of fiber in the county,” Ray Farley, executive director of Alliance Pickens, said in the release. “While the fiber network will primarily serve the county’s schools, local businesses can also benefit from the new fiber optical network.” 

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