Case Study: Somerset Area School District achieves WiFi access for 450+ students with Windstream Enterprise's 4G LTE Secure WiFi solution

Somerset Area School District offers a lesson in creative problem solving

Somerset Area School District faced a COVID-19–era mandate to move to virtual learning while roughly 22% of its 2,100 students lived in Internet dead zones across the district’s large rural footprint, leaving 450+ students without reliable home access and tight budget constraints. Windstream Enterprise stepped in offering 4G LTE wireless service, a 25 Gb pooled 4G plan, secure outdoor WiFi access points and professional services to help the district keep students connected.

Windstream Enterprise’s Professional Services team deployed 10 remote wireless access sites across the roughly 140‑square‑mile district, each combining a 4G LTE device and Secure WiFi so students could drive up, authenticate with school credentials, upload and download assignments, and stay protected by district security protocols. The solution provided WiFi access for 450+ students, used pooled data to ensure educational use, enabled distribution of additional iPads, and created an ongoing partnership to expand rural broadband access.

Somerset Area School District

Judy Maxwell

Director of Curriculum & Technology