The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is modernizing and upgrading internet connectivity within Kentucky’s 171 school districts, the Kentucky School for the Deaf, the Kentucky School for the Blind, Kentucky’s 50 area technology centers, and the KDE office in Frankfort.
KDE is working with Education Networks of America (ENA) by Zayo. David Couch, the associate commissioner in the KDE Office of Education Technology, said that this new partnership will provide bandwidth services with at least 75 percent more capacity for the same price as KDE’s prior service.
“Kentucky K-12 education is unique in that no other state requires cloud-based computing for educational, administrative and communication purposes of the internet network like ours,” said Couch. “The additional bandwidth is a game changer since we use standardized cloud-based services for several critical technology functions across Kentucky’s schools, district offices and the KDE office in Frankfort.”
Additionally, with this collaboration, KDE will be able to meet the national goal of 1 Mbps of internet bandwidth per K-12 student set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). KDE noted that previously the state was the first state to reach the FCC national goal of 100 Kbps internet speeds per K-12 student in 2015.
“For decades, all Kentucky schools have been connected to the internet with the best possible infrastructure, and we will continue improving to make these services better for our students,” said Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher.
The transition from their previous internet provider to ENA in every district only took 10 months.
“Typically, it takes many years to do this type of thing with this much quality,” Couch said. “Doing all this in just 10 months is just amazing and very noteworthy.”
In addition to enhancing learning opportunities, the improved infrastructure will provide KDE facilities with enhanced cybersecurity and reporting capabilities, helping to safeguard critical internet services and protect student data.
