THE WORLD ON A STRING
From a school district partnership to residents
and businesses, Benton PUD Broadband connects
a community to high-speed Internet.
By Dave Turner
Nearly three years ago, Benton Public Utility
District (PUD) Broadband began a partnership
with the Kennewick School District to provide
high-speed Internet services for the system’s
administration building and five of its schools.
Eighteen district schools have a broadband
connection today, and all 21 campuses in the
school system will be on Benton PUD Broadband’s
fiber optic network this spring. The advanced
network has been built out to be a robust resource
for not only the school system, but also for
residents and businesses across the community.
“We have 40-plus route miles of fiber
in loop format around Kennewick as well as
fixed wireless in the Badger Canyon, Canyon
Lakes, and Thompson Hill areas” says
Rich Nall, broadband systems engineer for Benton
PUD Broadband.
The network provides hardwired Ethernet services
community-wide and the latest Wi-Fi technology
in selected areas. “In addition to serving
businesses and residents with fiber and wireless
access to the Internet, the Wi-Fi network supports
transient or conventional access by the day
or by the hour,” says Rich. “We’ve
deployed this in the vicinity of Three Rivers
Coliseum, between Hwy. 395 and Columbia Center
Boulevard on Clearwater, and in downtown Kennewick,” he
says.
As for the partnership with schools, Benton
PUD Broadband’s initial involvement was
an effort to bridge the digital divide. “We
wanted to make sure that our community had
maximum access, especially those who had none,” says
Gary McCollum, manager of special projects
for Benton PUD. “To no small degree,
it’s about helping provide economic stability,” he
says. “You have to have a high-tech base
because that’s where the world is going—it’s
where the world has gone.”
For the Kennewick School District, being plugged
in to a cutting-edge fiber optic network has
been a boon at every level. The wide area network
(WAN) costs for the district have remained
flat for the most part but speed has increased
to five times what its former T1 access provided.
Before the fiber optic connection, getting
support to solve computer problems at the district
meant submitting a help-desk ticket and waiting
several days for resolution. “Now we
can phone the help desk, they access the PCs
remotely, see what’s going on and fix
it right away,” says Ron Cone, executive
director of information technology for the
Kennewick School District. It lets students,
teachers and administrators get on with their
prime directive—education—without
the frustration of long waits and making do
with less when it comes to technology.
The network is also helping with security,
providing cameras at athletic facilities and
other areas that allow security personnel to
monitor them in real-time from remote locations. “It’s
helped improve school safety,” says Cone.
What’s more, the infrastructure has
allowed Cone to put in PowerSchool, a centralized
student data system that, among other things,
lets parents access student grades. “I’m
not exactly popular with the students,” he
says, “but parents love it.”
The district has saved thousands on phone
costs with a voice-over IP network provided
through Benton PUD Broadband, cutting 600 lines
to 66 yet putting a phone in every classroom.
Cone says everyone—from teachers and
administrators to students and parents—gain
tremendous advantages from the technology. “This
is a very important partnership.”
For more information:
Benton PUD
2721 W. 10th Ave.
Kennewick, WA 99336
(509) 582-1228
www.bentonpud.org |
