Higher Ed Lit & Dark Fiber Solutions
Today’s learning is limited by the networks serving our students, and students are looking for high-capacity bandwidth to facilitate access on multiple devices simultaneously and seamlessly as they move from building to building across campus and beyond. To better attract individuals from our current and future tech-savvy and broadband-dependent generations, Velocity Fiber can work with your university to establish campus-wide managed lit fiber or dark fiber wide area networks (WANs) for direct access or to backhaul WiFi or facilitate 5G service, upgrade older fiber facilities and help connect off-campus locations including commercial and government partners. Ultimately, a fiber network will enhance the student experience and allow key services to be moved into the cloud.
Colleges and universities and associated regional education networks have consistently been the driver of the internet and many of the technical advancements that drive the internet itself. From the data intensive requirements of connecting main campuses with satellite spaces to supporting research initiatives, next generation fiber optic networks are quickly becoming the way of today and the future.
For many universities, indefeasible right of use (IRU) private fiber networks with multiple strands of lit or dark fiber can pay for itself over time compared to the cost of leasing, particularly by providing the ability to scale as the entity grows and changes in technology dictate.
Don’t let the lack of high-speed internet in your higher education facilities become a barrier to student and staff recruitment and retention. Every higher ed environment is different so the team at Velocity Fiber welcomes the opportunity to learn more about network challenges your college or university is facing and your goals so we can brainstorm and work together to overcome and achieve through a cost-effective private fiber solution. Contact us today to set up a time to visit. We look forward to visiting with you!
Our Fiber WAN Highlights
True Scalability
Increase campus WAN speeds without ever increasing your monthly bill.
Dedicated Fiber
Multiple dedicated fiber strands for the college or university’s exclusive use.
Customer Control
As much control over the WAN networking as your IT Department desires.
Security
Physical layer security and fiber that never enters a 3rd party facility.
Reliability
Brand new fiber infrastructure with the absolute minimum possible points of failure.
Spare Equipment
Spare SFP modules to get you back online in less time than it takes to enter a trouble ticket.
Higher Ed Fiber Network Services
Velocity Fiber’s lit and dark fiber networks are incredibly agile and scalable providing access to virtually unlimited WAN bandwidth.
Velocity Fiber delivers fiber strands to higher education locations and lights the desired number of strands of fiber. Leases are typically 3 – 10 years and can include optional extension terms.
Generally speaking, from a hardware standpoint, the only difference between Velocity Fiber’s dark and lit fiber solutions is that the college or university supplies the electronics required to light the fiber. We take care of the fiber Outside Plant (OSP) Maintenance and Operations (M&O). The higher ed institution has complete control over the traffic running across the network.
Typical dark fiber lease terms range between 5 and 20 years and optional extension terms can be arranged. Leased dark fiber networks are ideal for higher ed customers that desire flexibility and control but prefer to spread the cost of network construction over the length of their contract term rather than pay a larger upfront cost and lower monthly price.
IRU dark fiber is the same as leased dark fiber with regard to features and the fact that Velocity Fiber is responsible for taking care of the M&O. Indefeasible Right of Use (IRU) term lengths are usually 10 – 20 years. Besides often being longer terms than leased dark fiber, IRU dark fiber has a large non-recurring payment upfront to secure rights to the fiber network and then universities or colleges pay a reduced monthly price to cover M&O expenses.
If your college or university already owns your fiber network, Velocity Fiber can still maintain your outside plant fiber infrastructure and tailor M&O to your unique environment and requirements. As is typical in the telecom industry, Velocity Fiber has OSP partners that serve as our local presence, and then we monitor your network 24x7x365 from redundant network operation centers (NOCs).
States We Can Serve Higher Ed
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
