City of Pittsburg and Pittsburg Community Schools collaborate to bridge digital divide

City of Pittsburg and Pittsburg Community Schools collaborate to bridge digital divide

Motorola Solutions Nitro network extends secure, reliable and fast LTE into the community to seamlessly connect students to home lessons and programming.

The city of Pittsburg and Pittsburg Community Schools have worked together to create DragonNet, a high-speed broadband network, that works in the homes of students.

The project means they can access online lessons and stream video and other data-rich programming.

“The pandemic has shone a light on the growing digital divide in our country, but it certainly didn’t create the problem,” said Dr Brad Hanson, Assistant Superintendent, Pittsburg School District.

“We’ve long been aware of the inequalities created by a lack of consistent at home Internet access across our student body, which is essential for day-to-day learning, as well as the completion of research projects and papers that may be assigned as homework.

“DragonNet is creating a level playing field to ensure every one of our students has access to the resources they need to succeed.”

DragonNet is made possible because of Motorola Solutions’ Nitro private LTE solution, which runs on Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum. Nitro is predictable, secure and easy to deploy without complex infrastructure.

The antennas have been placed in public spaces and schools are connected directly into the district’s network via the city’s existing fiber optic cables.

“We’re proud to be among the first cities in the country to deploy a private LTE network like this,” said Jay Byers, Deputy City Manager, City of Pittsburg.

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