Adelphia Passes Distance-Learning Test in New York

Cable World, Sept 12, 2005

Boosting its growing commercial services segment, Adelphia Western New York recently completed one of the largest distance-learning networks in the country, interconnecting 106 school districts serving 189,000 students.

Adelphia beat several bidders for the mammoth project as it already had much of the fiber in place. It also had local expertise and support for the network.

The system has long provided services to the districts, but previous projects were smaller, says Jeanne Coleman, Adelphia Western New York's GM. "Having this under our belt means we can show other companies and businesses that we have the ability and expertise to [manage] large-scale projects," she adds.

The network covers a 6,000-square-mile area and will enable video conferencing, virtual classrooms, virtual field trips and broadband data networking. It will be the primary Internet and e-mail connection among the districts and teachers will also use it to take online virtual classes for certification credits.

Working with Ciena, Adelphia gained access to the fiber networks of Time Warner Cable, Atlantic Broadband and C&E Telephone, as well as three small regional telecommunications companies.

Adelphia built the network for the Western New York Regional Information Center, which services the area's five Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) regions. --Mavis Scanlon

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