AT&T Business Provides Fiber-based Services to Enable Connectivity and Networking for Public Schools

The State of South Carolina Department of Administration (Admin), through a competitive procurement selection process, awarded AT&T* a contract to provide data transport services for 82 public school districts in the state, covering more than 730,000 students.

AT&T and Segra collaborated to provide Ethernet Virtual Private Networking (VPN) connectivity to approximately 1,200 schools and libraries statewide to increase network capacity and offer faster speeds. 

“The organizations that make up the K-12 School Technology Initiative all strive to ensure that public school students in South Carolina – regardless of location or background – are afforded the technology, infrastructure and educational content necessary to be successful in today’s highly competitive, data-driven marketplace,” said South Carolina CIO Keith Osman. “AT&T and Segra have proven their commitment to the K-12 data network by providing a highly-secure and reliable Ethernet network, cost effective rates, and tremendous support for the end users in our schools and libraries.”

AT&T has worked with the State of South Carolina on its technology initiatives in education for more than 20 years with the shared goal of advancing student learning. Maintaining a high-functioning network requires robust and aggressive application of network and data standards. With this new contract, Admin can rely on AT&T to not only provide the Ethernet network, but also the option of installing and managing routers at each site.  This lets schools and libraries focus on their core educational roles while offloading the technical work to AT&T.

“As education institutions deliver content online and drive smart, connected campuses, networks need to keep up — in scale and accessibility. Keeping pace requires innovation and flexibility,” said Jane Sosebee, President, AT&T South Carolina. “South Carolina’s leaders understand the commitment needed to ensure crucial resources are available for students and educators. And, we’re happy to help them achieve their educational and technology goals today and into the future.”

Broadly, AT&T Inc. is committed to advancing education, strengthening communities and improving lives. The AT&T Aspire initiative uses innovation in education to drive student success in school and beyond. With a financial commitment of $500 million since 2008, AT&T is leveraging technology, relationships and social innovation to help all students make their biggest dreams a reality.

In 1996, South Carolina adopted the South Carolina K-12 School Technology Initiative to address technology infrastructure, connectivity and education in schools throughout the state. With reliable, highly-secure data transmission from AT&T, students and teachers have access to high-quality digital and online resources including face-to-face and online learning opportunities, access to professional development tools, curriculum support and online educational resources.

The K-12 School Technology Initiative has made progress in the development and implementation of educational technology and infrastructure initiatives that are designed to produce more successful students in South Carolina.

According to the state’s 2017-18 progress report, the number of South Carolina schools with more than 1,000 Mbps bandwidth has grown from 6 in 2013 to 46 in 2017-18. And, more than 17 million items were pulled from Discus, the state’s virtual library. One of the keys to this success has been AT&T’s approach of laying an early foundation with Ethernet solutions.

“We’ve worked with the State of South Carolina for over 20 years to support, expand and enhance their network. We’re proud to continue working side-by-side with state leadership on this opportunity,” said Brian Troup, Vice President, AT&T Global Public Sector. “South Carolina is committed to improving education and we’re here to support them in any way we can.”

For more information about AT&T in Education, please visit www.att.com/publicsector.