After 13 years with the same telecommunications provider, administrators of New Jersey’s-based Wall Township Public Schools (WTPS) realized a change was needed. The phone service was expensive and costs were unpredictable from month to month. And, despite a fast core network, the District's low-speed 3 megabit Internet connection limited learning opportunities in the classroom. Meanwhile, teachers and students across the district’s seven schools needed reliable, fast access to an enormous amount of online content in the classroom – not to mention the premium "connect from home" experience.
The district was operating an advanced network that consisted of privately owned fiber between buildings and 40 application servers powering a thin client environment. Initially, the plan was only to upgrade to a 45 megabit connection. However,when district officials learned that they could boost bandwidth speeds to 100 megabits, pay a flat rate for phone service and consolidate everything onto one bill - while saving $80,000 per year – the plan changed.
"We fully expected to stick with our incumbent service provider but were simply blown away by the amount of speed Optimum Lightpath was able to deliver while still saving us money," said Jeffrey Janover, Director of Technology.
Janover also cited the customer service Optimum Lightpath provided to the district as a determining factor in solidifying the decision to switch. “After just a few months of service, we're already recommending Optimum Lightpath to other municipal services in the area." Additionally, the new platform will be able to expand as the district’s needs grow.
"While our robust, cutting edge network is built to meet the complex needs of even the most demanding New York metro area businesses, we also recognize that for many of our customers, cost, speed and customer service is driving their purchasing decisions," said Dave Pistacchio, President of Optimum Lightpath. "Optimum Lightpath understands the distinct needs of school districts throughout our footprint and works with them to deliver the right technology at the right price with service that can't be beat.”
