SMART/net was established through funds secured from an Act 183 e-Fund grant provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV secured a $917,000 three-year grant to provide super high-speed Internet lines from area school districts to the IU.

Through SMART/net, the IU and districts will be able to share resources, enter into consortia agreements which will save money on software and other applications, respond to future distance learning needs, develop networks with community organizations, and stay on the cutting edge of future technologies.

Although the IU will be the single point of contact for all network issues, Cisco and Verizon will cover maintenance on core and edge equipment. Each site will receive a Cisco 3750 layer 3 switch which will provide a high quality, high speed network.

Participating districts will have a minimum of 6 megabit of Internet per line with additional capacity available if needed. A 100 megabit line will connect districts, MIU IV, other intermediate units and schools in Pennsylvania for video, voice, and data other than Internet.

SMART/net also allows districts access to Internet2— a private, high performance networking infrastructure that connects nearly 3000 member organizations and over 42,000 research and education institutions including universities, high schools, museums, libraries and companies all across the United States.

Download SMART/net flyer for more information including specific programs that school districts will be able to access.