A local government addresses new bandwidth needs with a modern network

Like any complex organization, county governments have wide-ranging technology needs. Their infrastructure must be capable of supporting everything from the district attorney’s office to animal control offices to DMV locations. Without the right solutions, staff cannot effectively perform their jobs or efficiently provide constituents with critical services.

In a state in the Northeast, one particular county was struggling without the right solutions. Network outages were not uncommon. And their legacy Ethernet solution could not quickly or cost-efficiently scale to provide the bandwidth needed to support rapidly growing use of digital services and applications. “When I started over five years ago, we had 20 Mbps connectivity. Since then, we’ve upgraded to 50 Mbps, to 100 Mbps, and then 200 Mbps. Every time I’ve increased bandwidth, my user base has gobbled it up,” says the IT director. “I got tired of having to upgrade everything every two years.”

Furthermore, the county’s technology services were provided by multiple vendors, which cost the IT department unnecessary time, money and hassle to manage. The IT director knew he needed to find a single partner that could modernize the county’s network with solutions able to support the digital services constituents expect.

He turned to Spectrum Business.

Connecting a county with fiber

The IT director worked with the Spectrum Business government account team to identify the solutions the county needed. At the top of the priority list was a scalable solution that could deliver fast, reliable connectivity. Their 400 employees span government buildings on two main campuses as well as several other locations, such as a marine park, across the county.

Spectrum Business recommended a 500 Mbps Ethernet Private Line (EPL) network, which would deliver highly reliable point-to-point connectivity over the dedicated Spectrum Business fiber network. The scalable solution would make it easy for the IT team to handle the county’s ever-increasing bandwidth requirements.

High-speed 1 Gbps Dedicated Fiber Internet (DFI) service would provide internet connectivity for all county facilities, and, like the Ethernet network, would provide the flexibility to quickly scale bandwidth as needed to meet changing business requirements.

Ensuring efficient communication and collaboration

In addition to its network bandwidth woes, the county had a fragmented legacy trunking phone system that had become increasingly expensive and frustrating to manage and maintain. Spectrum Business recommended implementing its cloud-based Unified Communications (UC) solution, which would enable all county offices to communicate and collaborate seamlessly with each other. The fully managed solution, which uses a dedicated connection on the Spectrum Business fiber network separate from the connection used for data, would ensure reliable service and the highest level of voice quality.

A partnership that sets the county up for success

Today, with one trusted partner providing all technology services, the IT team now spends less time managing the complexity of multiple providers, and more time on high-priority IT projects. They benefit from a modern network that’s built for whatever comes next.

For example, bandwidth upgrades needed for new applications are no longer a hassle now that they have scalable fiber solutions. But even more important, the county can easily support the digital services their constituents demand, and the applications their employees need to do their jobs effectively.

The UC service has streamlined employee communications between different locations, and provides the IT team with the ability to manage the service from anywhere using an intuitive portal. What’s more, with no equipment to purchase, install, upgrade or troubleshoot, the service has resulted in significant savings — an estimated $27,000 per year.

And for the IT director, those savings go beyond a number on a balance sheet; it’s time and money that can be reinvested in a small community.

“Whether that means asphalting a roadway, or buying more office supplies, every dollar and minute saved is a win, and we couldn’t have done it without the help of Spectrum Business,” he says.

To learn more about how a modern IT infrastructure can support better citizen and agency services, read our white paper.