How can LTE help bridge the digital divide in education?

The Collinsville Community Unit School District 10 in Illinois (United States) partnered with an IT solutions provider to build a private LTE network using Nokia technologies to bridge the digital divide and provide internet connectivity to approximately 500 students in the Fairmont City and State Park communities.

The problem: the digital divide

With the pandemic, home and remote learning accelerated, increasing the demand for higher internet speeds due to online meetings, audio, and video. This became particularly challenging for students in areas with low internet speeds.

Ensuring the continuity of education everywhere, from remote areas to low-income rural and urban regions, became more important than ever. The challenge faced by the Collinsville School District was to drastically expand high-speed broadband coverage to ensure the continuity of remote learning.

The plan

The District Board of Education committed to breaking down the connectivity barrier through a cost-effective and sustainable internet solution.

The district explored many different options before deciding on the private LTE solution. Some of the aspects evaluated included access points, routers on school buses, routers on telephone poles, and paying internet providers to install service in the affected areas. The option to work with private networks quickly emerged after the Federal Communications Commission approved the use of private companies, cities, and schools to implement it.

Together with the technology provider, plans were developed to improve coverage and reliability. A transmission tower was built at Kreitner Elementary School, and microcells were installed at the school, the Mounds Water District tower, and locations in Fairmont City. Within a year, the network was up and running.

The technology behind the network

The centerpiece of the network is an LTE broadband tower built at Kreitner Elementary School, which connects to the district's internet service. In total, the network includes four Nokia CBRS microcell installations, providing nearly 10 square kilometers of coverage in the Fairmont City and State Park communities. The result enables students to access the school's educational programs from home on equal terms.

The benefits

The school district was able to fulfill a commitment made more than twenty years ago to install computers in all classrooms. The implementation of smart boards and Chromebooks for all students continued.

However, the commitment was not solely focused on computers. The WAN fiber project connected all the schools and buildings in the district and provided internet access to all students while they are at school, but also when they are at home. With the construction of the LTE broadband tower, a further step was taken to meet the connectivity needs of students in the State Park and Fairmont City areas.

4.9G/LTE private networks are the right choice for these new applications because they can match the reliability, predictability, and security of wired solutions while supporting wireless and mobile communications.

Compared to Wi-Fi, private LTE technology offers broader and deeper coverage, operator reliability, predictable performance, and security.

This use case in education illustrates the advantages of private wireless technology for school districts.