Denver Public Schools (DPS), Colorado’s largest school district, selected Zayo Group Holdings for a dark fiber network. The network will connect 153 schools and sites, including two DPS data centers. The 618-mile solution consists of 562 miles of network in place or under construction and 56 miles of new build, which will be leveraged for follow-on tenants.
More than 100,000 students and educators will leverage the higher bandwidth that is needed for digital textbooks and tools, online standardized testing, streaming media and online resources and apps that are critical for K-12 curriculum.
The district is funding the upgrade through E-Rate, a federal program that subsidizes internet infrastructure so schools and libraries can provide high-speed internet. This is the first year that dark fiber has been included in the program. The solution will provide DPS with full network control and the ability to add capacity as needed.
“Denver is the largest school district in Colorado to leverage E-Rate funded dark fiber. Its decision sets a precedent among top-tier school districts in the country that dark fiber is a viable and economical solution for long term bandwidth demands,” said John DiLacqua, director of Zayo’s K-12 & E-Rate segment. “As a result, the resilient, secure and high-capacity network will benefit employees and students across the district.”
Zayo has implemented more than 30 E-Rate-funded solutions in Colorado. Additional projects have been completed or are underway in Georgia, California, Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Texas, Utah and Washington.
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