Sparklight Business today announced it has been awarded the contract to build a fiber-optic network that will provide high-speed internet access to Beaver Creek Elementary School, a Title I school in Rimrock, Arizona.
This fiber build is the final portion of a larger project with the Yavapai County Education Service Agency (YCESA) to build a fiber-optic Wide Area Network (WAN) with Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) that will deliver critical broadband access to more than 72 schools and libraries and 100 businesses within Yavapai County.
Stan Goligoski, Executive Director of Yavapai County School Superintendent’s Office said that this an amazing opportunity for both students and teachers to have access to much-needed high-speed internet service.
“Beaver Creek Elementary School is the center of a community with limited resources, so this fiber build really gives residents more of an opportunity to receive a benefit that the rest of the county is already receiving,” said Goligoski. “This is the last remaining gap we have for our schools and libraries. Sparklight has already gone above and beyond by bringing high-speed internet to Crown King – something we didn’t think possible in our lifetime – and now they’re continuing their great work in Rimrock.”
In addition to creating the opportunity for schools and libraries in this area to obtain high-speed internet access, the cost of the service has also been greatly reduced. Goligoski says that by working with Sparklight Business, the cost for internet access for schools and libraries in Yavapai County has been reduced, on average, by nearly 87 percent.
Prior to Sparklight’s partnership with YCESA, most of the more rural schools and libraries in Yavapai County had access to just 5 Mbps internet service – a speed well below FCC bandwidth recommendations.
“We are grateful to continue our partnership with Yavapai County Educational Technology Consortium and help bridge the gap by bringing a fast and reliable broadband network to all of Yavapai County,” said Chris Boone, Sparklight Senior Vice President of Business Services and Emerging Markets. “With the help of funding from the Universal Service Administrative Company as well as the state of Arizona, we’re able to invest in the future of Rimrock’s teachers and students, ensuring they are connected to the essentials — work and school.”