| bridging_the_internet_divide.pdf |
Case Study: Saddle Mountain School District - Tonopah, Arizona
Saddle Mountain Unified School District #90 (SMUSD #90) is about 50 miles outside of Phoenix in Tonapah, a small town surrounded by mountains. Historically, few Internet providers have built infrastructure due to the surrounding mountainous terrain. To fill that gap, an entrepreneurial local service provider, Triad Wireless, was founded three years ago to provide reliable, affordable wireless Internet access to residents.
Triad launched its Education Everywhere program shortly after inception to support families in need of low-cost Internet. The $10 per month program provides filtered Internet access to school district approved websites and applications for local students. With more families signing up daily, Triad needed to find additional buildings to install wireless radio towers that could deliver Internet to nearby homes to satisfy demand.
Since several school campuses in SMUSD #90 are located by students’ homes, the schools became the obvious answer. SMUSD #90 worked with Triad to approve the installation of additional Internet infrastructure at their schools at no cost to the provider. In return, Triad could serve more of the students in the school district. Together, Triad and SMUSD #90 worked to find a win-win solution for the business and the community – Triad expanded business, and SMUSD continues to help students to digital learning options while at home during the coronavirus pandemic, and into the future.
ESH: June 2020
Triad launched its Education Everywhere program shortly after inception to support families in need of low-cost Internet. The $10 per month program provides filtered Internet access to school district approved websites and applications for local students. With more families signing up daily, Triad needed to find additional buildings to install wireless radio towers that could deliver Internet to nearby homes to satisfy demand.
Since several school campuses in SMUSD #90 are located by students’ homes, the schools became the obvious answer. SMUSD #90 worked with Triad to approve the installation of additional Internet infrastructure at their schools at no cost to the provider. In return, Triad could serve more of the students in the school district. Together, Triad and SMUSD #90 worked to find a win-win solution for the business and the community – Triad expanded business, and SMUSD continues to help students to digital learning options while at home during the coronavirus pandemic, and into the future.
ESH: June 2020
