The Atlantic Community School District held an electronic session Wednesday evening and heard about the Teacher Leadership Program (TLC), as well as from Technology Coordinator Roger Warne and NishnaNet’s Scott Bennett, with regard to options for student/faculty internet access/infrastructure.

Warne said regardless of what option the District chooses, or even if a combination of options is offered, the service will not be a replacement for any current internet service students or staff may have. It is intended to serve those who do not have direct access to the internet, and who need to take lesson plans remotely, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Option #1: The District will Provide a 4G LTW signal from the south water tower to supply cellular hotspots. This would offer the benefit of: content and internet being provided by the school and monitored by the existing firewall and content filter; The equipment could be deployed and gathered back fairly quickly if need be; It would include a one-time cost, and the district would own the equipment; it would cover most of Atlantic, and can move with the student. Drawbacks include: An initial cost estimate to $45-to $50,000 for the first 100 hotspots, while 200 more is $40,000; The signal can be weak or non-existent in low lying area and/or heavy trees; There needs to be an exact address of the user to determine access, or the dependability of the signal cannot be guaranteed. And, it will NOT reach rural students.

Option #2: Mediacom’s “Connect to compete” program. That would cost $10 per month; The school chooses who gets it; A VPN can be used to route internet access through the school’s firewall. Drawbacks include: Deployment can take time; There are data and speed limits; the modem stays in the household; There is a need to have an exact address to determine access; requires a 1-year commitment and a $120 minimum; and the user must have access inside the City Limits of Atlantic.

Option#3: Verizon Hotspots. This has the advantage of: Easy deployment; Fairly easy to gather equipment back in; Good coverage for the area; The school owns the device moving forward; The signal can move with the student; and it is an option for rural students. The drawbacks include a required six-month contract; $30 per device and $40 per month, for a total of $270 minimum.

Option#4: NishnaNet. The standard price for the service plus install is $55 per month, but Scott Bennett said the district would be charged a lower rate. Warne and Bennett said this is a good option for rural customers – IF there is a line of site from the point of signal. Conversely, it is not a good option for city dwellers, due to terrain and vegetation concerns. The customer pays the bills and chooses to use the service.

Option#5: Satellite Internet ($75-100 per month). This would not be a good option for school funded internet, but it is an option for someone in a remote location.

Option#6: School Parking Lots – WiFi Access. There is essentially no cost to the district or user; Content and internet is provided by the school and monitored by the existing firewall and content filter. Locations at the Washington Elementary and Achievement Center has greater signal strength than the High School and Middle School, but it is nonetheless receivable. The drawbacks are the range is limited to a 150-foot radius and the user (student/teacher) must travel to the location where it is available.

Warne and Bennett will work together to send out surveys to students and staff to see where the need is, which will help to determine which option or hybrid of options might best suit the District’s need to provide an alternate source of learning if the district is shut down in unforeseen circumstances (like COVID-19). When those questions are answered, the district will need to determine which devices (laptops) will be needed in addition to those currently being rotated through the grades, and how many will be needed to fill the demand.