Case Study: South Bend Community School Corporation achieves community Wi‑Fi access during COVID‑19 with Cradlepoint

School Buses Bring Wi-Fi to South Bend Students & Residents During COVID-19 Pandemic

South Bend Community School Corporation faced a sudden shift to remote learning when students were sent home during the COVID‑19 pandemic, leaving many families without reliable Internet and adding pressure to local networks. To bridge that gap, the district partnered with Cradlepoint, deploying NetCloud Service for Mobile along with IBR900 LTE routers to extend connectivity beyond school buildings.

Cradlepoint enabled SBCSC to repurpose dozens of school buses as parked Wi‑Fi hubs—broadcasting separate SSIDs for student Chromebooks and the wider community—so students and residents could safely access online learning, services, and meals. The solution gave the district central visibility into network performance and data usage, allowed fleetwide CIPA‑compliant configuration changes, and delivered measurable community impact by restoring Internet access across multiple locations during the crisis.

South Bend Community School Corporation

Rene Sanchez

COO