Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Network Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee backs leasing dark fiber with IU 13 to boost district internet redundancy
Summary
The Policy & Curriculum Committee approved moving forward with a Phase‑2 WAN proposal to lease 10‑gig dark fiber (first year ~ $7,000 setup; recurring ~ $3,700) to raise capacity and redundancy via IU 13; presenters said the move reduces cost relative to the district's current providers and improves firewall/security services.
Kutztown Area School District committee members on Jan. 12 approved advancing a Phase‑2 Wide Area Network proposal that would lease a 10‑gig dark‑fiber connection between the district and IU 13 to add redundancy and increase capacity from the district's existing secondary links.
The WAN presenter told the committee that the district currently maintains two internet connections (a 4 Gbps primary via BCIU/IU provider and a 2 Gbps secondary via Pentel/Pento Data) and that annual WAN costs total about "$70,000 a year," split roughly between internet circuits and firewall licensing. "Altogether, our costs are around $70,000 a year," the presenter said while describing the district's current expense profile and the high recurring licensing costs for firewall services.
The Phase‑2 proposal would lease 10 Gbps of dark fiber to create a second physical path to IU 13 (a consortium provider), improving failover capability if a primary route or the high school hub loses service or power. The presenter described Phase 2 pricing to the committee: an initial year that is "a little shy of $7,000 because you have to purchase hardware" followed by recurring annual charges "just shy of $3,700." The presenter said the recurring cost is less than the district currently pays for its 2 Gbps secondary connection and that the IU 13 consortium offers caching, peering and higher-tier firewall services as part of its membership model.
Committee members asked detailed questions about redundancy (backup power, single points of failure), whether moving to IU 13 increases security, and timing. The presenter explained that IU 13 aggregates multiple upstream providers and provides a higher-tier firewall as part of its service, which should improve traffic-level security. The committee voted to advance the Phase‑2 dark‑fiber lease to the full board for final approval; the presenter said the district already budgeted for the move and noted an IU‑board timeline for approval.
Next steps identified in committee: - Staff to supply the formal contract/price sheet and confirm the first-year and recurring charges in writing. - IU 13 and district staff to coordinate required hardware placement (switch in Brandywine's network closet) and system cutover timing. - The proposition will go to the full board for final approval before procurement proceeds.
