Lockhart LionLink
Lockhart LionLink is a project that the Lockhart Independent School District (ISD) in Texas started in direct response to the COVID pandemic. After collecting data from a district wide survey, they learned that roughly 40% of students (with a district of 6,141 students as of 2020) did not have internet access at home.
The school district initiated public-private partnership in the spring of 2020 with Particle Communications, a local ISP, in a 10-year commitment. The school district’s goal was to provide build their own network using fixed wireless technology. Their initial goal was to use 3 existing towers from Particle Communications along with building 4 new towers to provide county coverage and connect 500 families to the network. With this being a public-private partnership, the school district focused on reallocating the budget to fully fund the infrastructure and internet plans for all families.
The most recent update about LionLink was from September 2020. They reported that there were some installation difficulties. By the end of August 2020, Lockhart ISD was able to set up 5 towers instead of 7 and connect 200 families instead of 500. They plan on installing the last 2 towers along with connecting more families by October 2020.
Nevertheless, LionLink has proven to be a very promising project in bringing internet equity to families in the district. We are excited to hear any more news and updates about how far along the project is now.
The biggest takeaway from Lockhart’s success is their use of fixed wireless as their broadband solution. WiFi tower installation is faster and cheaper than laying down fiber or cable to individual homes. With many geographical similarities, Northfield can take advantage of the flat terrain since fixed wireless work best when direct lines of sight can be made between a tower and a reciever antenna. This plan is also scalable, as more towers can be built and set up which will allow access to more families in the area. We are hopeful that a similar partnership can be made with the Northfield school district and Northfield WiFi, a local ISP, as they were recently approved to set up a WiFi tower in Faribault. A potential partnership may allow for more Wifi towers to be built to provide coverage to members in school district.
