Brandi Tubb
816.903.9400
brandi.tubb@upnfiber.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Unite Private Networks to Implement Next Generation Network for Shawnee Mission School District

Multi-year agreement for fiber-optic services will connect 50 District locations

Kansas City, MO (May 14, 2015) – Unite Private Networks (UPN) and the Shawnee Mission School District announced the implementation of a next generation fiber network connecting all 50 school district locations at speeds of 10Gbps as well as providing 10Gbps Ethernet Internet Access (EIA) district wide.

The fiber-optic Ethernet Wide Area Network (EWAN) will connect students, educators, administrators and parents via ultrahigh-speed broadband connections and enable the Shawnee Mission School District to provide vastly improved voice, video, data, and Internet services.

“The fiber network infrastructure upgrades will provide Shawnee Mission students, educators and administrators 100 times the capacity of the previous network,” said Martin Mueller, Vice President of Strategic Accounts. “When Dr. Jim Hinson became superintendent of the district in July of 2013, he identified four key initiatives; academics, technology, safety and security, and facilities. The capacity and reliability of this network will have a tremendous positive impact on all four overarching areas Dr. Hinson has identified.”

When finished, the EWAN will enable schools to no longer share bandwidth, as they do now. The end result will be faster service and the ability to connect more devices to the network. The network can expand as the district’s needs change.

Located in suburban northeast Johnson County, Kansas, ten miles from downtown Kansas City, Missouri, the Shawnee Mission School District is the third largest school district in the state of Kansas.

“The Shawnee Mission School District’s wide area network will serve as the backbone for all of the district’s communications and will support the district’s future technology and bandwidth requirements,” said Drew Lane, executive manager of information services. “A fast, reliable, and cost-effective network is imperative to ensure our students and teachers have access to cutting-edge technology and applications that support learning. We are looking forward to greater technological efficiency across all schools and district facilities.”

Kevin Anderson, chief executive officer at UPN, said the company has been providing high bandwidth services to customers across 20 states since 1998. “The demand for fiber-optic networks and related services for schools is very strong, and we continue to partner with school districts like Shawnee Mission to support and enhance educational programs with best in class fiber-optic networks” said Anderson.