Dirt. Shovels. VIPs. It’s going to look a lot like your typical groundbreaking ceremony. Except for one thing. There’s going to be a boring machine. And there will be boring. But it won’t be boring!

This groundbreaking ceremony isn’t kicking off the construction of a new building. This one kicks off a major project to install a completely new private fiber network for all of Arlington ISD.

“You can’t overstate how significant this is for our district,” said Superintendent Dr. Marcelo Cavazos. “Just like when we build new facilities, this is about giving our students every opportunity to succeed and the tools to thrive in the 21st century. One of the most important tools is strong, stable internet.”

This 2019 Bond project is all about internet – about students and teachers having access to all the online resources, learning materials and teaching tools that go into a 21st-century education. It’s about ensuring the demand for internet – which is growing all the time – is met now and for decades to come. And it’s about speed, stability and dependability – creating internet infrastructure designed to eliminate internet outages and guarantee smooth, uninterrupted access.

“We can put something in place that will last after we’re gone,” said Arlington ISD assistant superintendent of technology Eric Upchurch. “By investing in this infrastructure, the district provides a long-term, cost-effective solution to meet demands for many years to come. This model allows the district to increase capacity quickly as needs arise to better serve the learning experience for students and support operational functions for faculty.”

The new private network will be installed to encircle the entire school district and connect to every school. Once installed, capacity will skyrocket and immediately give the district 10 times the bandwidth it currently has. Plus, since the district will have full control over the network, it can implement increases to capacity whenever necessary simply by adding additional hardware.