Pinal County School Office Education Service Agency receives funding for fiber based broadband internet services
CopperArea.com
The Pinal County School Office Education Service Agency is pleased to announce it has received $31,549,900.38 through the Schools and Libraries Program (E-Rate) funding. The funds will support the Pinal County Internet Consortium.
The Pinal County School Office Education Service Agency is committed to “Fostering Learning, Achievement and Success” for Pinal County students. The Pinal County Internet Consortium will expand internet access to schools and libraries within Pinal County, giving students and teachers the infrastructure needed to succeed in today’s changing technology driven world. The fiber optics lines installed in this project will increase broadband services for participating locations to 10Gbps. The Pinal County School Office Education Service Agency has partnered with Zayo, a leading fiber network provider with extensive education experience, to complete construction, which will begin immediately.
According to the FCC website, High-speed Internet access, or broadband, is critical to economic opportunity, job creation, education, and civic engagement. But there are too many parts of this country where broadband is unavailable. In urban areas, 97% of Americans have access to high-speed fixed service. In rural areas, that number falls to 65%. And on Tribal Lands, barely 60% have access. All told, nearly 30 million Americans cannot reap the benefits of the digital age.
