Springfield Public Schools Take 1:1 Tech Initiative to Gigabit Speeds with Comcast Business

SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, N.J., March 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast Business today announced that Springfield Public Schools has selected Comcast Business Ethernet services to support a 1:1 technology learning environment for more than 2,400 students across the district's five schools. In addition to providing the Internet bandwidth needed by the thousands of laptops and other mobile devices that access the school district's network every day, Comcast Business will also provide a reliable connection between Springfield Public Schools and its primary data center for the quick and secure transfer of all critical administrative and educational data.   

Located in Union County, N.J., Springfield Public Schools is a five-school district that includes one early childhood learning center, two elementary schools, a middle school and one high school. A distinguished program, Project RED Signature District, and Center for Digital Education Digital Content and Curriculum Award winner, the district boasts a 1:1 learning environment where it provides laptops for students in grades 6-12 as well as for all faculty and administrators. The Pre K-5 classrooms have a minimum of four laptops and tablets per classroom. All of the school-issued technology is provided to the students without any additional cost to them or their family, and all assignments and lesson plans are available online and accessible whether at school or at home.

"Between our 1:1 program and more than 400 tablets being used within our early childhood center and two elementary schools, we knew we needed a reliable communications partner that could provide us with the infrastructure needed to support our 'anytime, anywhere' learning philosophy," said Michael A. Davino, Superintendent at Springfield Public Schools. "After careful assessment of our bandwidth options, we made the decision to partner with Comcast Business. The experience has been seamless and has allowed us to focus on providing our students with the best education possible instead of worrying about how we will meet our bandwidth demands."

Comcast Business upgraded Springfield Public Schools' network from 100 Megabits-per-second (Mbps) to a 1 Gigabit-per-second (Gbps) Ethernet Dedicated Internet connection, which will support numerous devices simultaneously accessing the Internet without overtaxing the system. In addition to allowing students access to ubiquitous Internet resources, this network also allows students, teacher and parents to utilize a virtual learning platform and obtain real-time access to grades, attendance, lunch balances, and general announcements. School board members can also access meeting minutes on their tablets and other mobile devices, eliminating the need for printed copies.

Beyond its external-facing benefits, this Ethernet Dedicated Internet connection from Comcast also is supporting the district's entire offsite backup system, which holds crucial administrative information that includes personnel records, budgetary information and its Student Information System (SIS), which houses all student data. This connection is responsible for archiving and backing up all school email to its offsite data center. Plans to upgrade its network to 10 Gbps are currently underway as student enrollment continues to climb and the possibility of replacing textbooks with additional tablets is explored.

"As an increasing number of local schools explore the technological benefits of mobile devices, they are finding out first-hand how important it is to partner with a communications provider that can offer them both scalability and bandwidth capacity to meet their needs as they continue forging their path along the virtual educational landscape," said Kevin Conmy, vice president for Comcast Business, Freedom Region. "Comcast offers a wide array of services that can help schools and other local organizations expand, diversify and prepare for the future by providing the bandwidth needed today as well as the ability to accommodate the technology of tomorrow."

About Comcast Business
Comcast Business, a unit of Comcast Cable, provides advanced communication solutions to help organizations of all sizes meet their business objectives. Through a next-generation network that is backed by 24/7 technical support, Comcast delivers Business Internet, Ethernet, TV and a full portfolio of Voice services for cost-effective, simplified communications management.

For more information, call 866-429-3085.

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About Comcast Cable
Comcast Cable is the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone provider to businesses and residential customers. Comcast has invested in technology to build an advanced network that delivers among the fastest broadband speeds, and brings customers personalized video, communications and home management offerings. Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) is a global media and technology company. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

SOURCE Comcast Business