WCBC

September 13th, 2014 by WCBC Radio

The Appalachian Regional Commission announced Friday approval of a grant in the amount of $34,375 to the Allegany County Board of Education for the Bel Air Elementary Fiber Extension Project. This grant will help fund the extension of fiber optic cable for internet access to the Bel Air Elementary School in Allegany County. Currently, the school has a 35 Megabit internet connection serving the entire school. This is not sufficient bandwidth for a school with over 250 daily users. The fiber connection will provide a 500 Megabit connection that can later be expanded without the need for additional fiber. The fiber connection will allow for online video streaming used for testing and assessment as well as the Discovery Education video streaming system. In addition to ARC funds, the Allegany County Board of Commissioners is providing $17,188 and the Allegany County Board of Education is providing $17,188, bringing the total project funding to $68,750.