Richmond, VA – On, April 19th, 2023, Richmond Public Schools celebrated the beginning of the construction process on their brand-new WANRack Private Fiber Network.
In April 2022, WANRack, a private fiber-wide area network provider, entered a contract with Richmond Public Schools to construct a state-of-the-art fiber network that spans all RPS school campuses across the city. This new network will provide the school with unlimited bandwidth, better security, and faster speeds for the school division. This groundbreaking event marks a major milestone for the division and creates a future-proof network that Richmond students will benefit from well into the future.
“We are thrilled to break ground on the installation of what will be a 21st-century internet infrastructure for RPS and the City of Richmond,” said Superintendent Jason Kamras. “Our ability to continue to provide cutting-edge instruction utilizing all of the benefits of the internet and technology rests on our students having access to the fastest speeds and most modern infrastructure.”
“The collaboration between RPS and WANRack will allow children to excel both inside and outside the classroom by removing barriers. I am confident that this high-speed network will bring opportunities to our students, teachers, and our community,” said City of Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney.
This contract is for a new “wide area network,” or WAN, which is a core piece of infrastructure that provides a secure Internet system, phone services, and other telecommunications needs. The construction is set to begin in Summer 2023 and is projected to be completed in Spring 2024.
This network is primarily funded through E-Rate, a federal funding program under the direction of the Federal Communications Commission. E-Rate is dedicated to making telecommunications and information services more affordable to schools and libraries. Thanks to this program, the actual cost to RPS will be less than $200K out of a total contract cost of more than $11 million.
The launch event was held at Huguenot High School and included remarks from Superintendent Kamras, Mayor Stoney, 4th District School Board Representative Jonathan Young, City Council President Michael Jones, and WANRack CEO Rob Oyler. Also in attendance were 3rd District City Council Member Ann-Frances Lambert, Delegate Besty Carr, and Senator Ghazala Hashmi.
“We are thrilled to be a part of this project with Richmond Public Schools,” said Rob Oyler, Founder, and CEO of WANRack. “We cannot wait to see the network be put to use every day and watch all opportunities unfold for the division.”
WANRack will be laying fiber to benefit the division, but at the same time – and at their own expense – will be laying excess capacity to serve the community. This could enable broadband access in the major public housing developments that serve thousands of RPS students.
Together, RPS and WANRack will build a better future for students and staff, and ensure that they have access to the resources and opportunities they need to thrive in today’s technologically dependent world.
About WANRack
WANRack provides high-bandwidth, fiber-based infrastructure and related services to schools, hospitals, libraries, enterprises and carrier customers throughout the continental United States. Service offerings include E-Rate-compliant lit fiber, dark fiber, and special construction solutions. Headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, the company provides bespoke fiber solutions, which eliminates countless points of failure found in typical legacy networks. To learn more about WANRack, visit www.wanrack.com.
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