{"id":1670,"date":"2022-08-30T16:10:01","date_gmt":"2022-08-30T20:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mdren.net\/?p=1670"},"modified":"2022-11-11T09:33:28","modified_gmt":"2022-11-11T14:33:28","slug":"usm-maryland-research-and-education-network-to-connect-western-maryland-campuses-with-high-speed-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mdren.net\/?p=1670","title":{"rendered":"USM Maryland Research and Education Network to Connect Western Maryland Campuses with High-Speed Service"},"content":{"rendered":"

UPDATE:\u00a0 Western Maryland Fiber Project – August 30, 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Project Update:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Western Maryland connectivity enhancement project is live. The project brought 10GB of service to Frostburg State University. Frostburg CIO Tim Pelesky reports:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe lit up our first 10gig lab last week (just in time for the start of the semester). Per Dr. Mike Flinn, chair of our Computer Science program:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026We are at the next step which will be determining what software we need to connect to HPCs across the region (that software will not have the cap). This research is on me and the department, we\u2019ll follow up ASAP.<\/p>\n

The next step is for me to identify the department instructor needs\u2026\u201c<\/p>\n

Dr. Flinn has also started conversations with our GIS department on expanding the network on campus, in support of their large dataset needs.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve suggested the three of us meet to figure out a path forward \u2013 would you be willing? I\u2019d plan to include our infrastructure team leadership to keep them informed.<\/p>\n

So far, our quick win has been more-than-sufficient bandwidth to meet operational needs. As more and more of our service offerings transition to SaaS, and as our user population consumes more bandwidth (including continued reliance on IP video\/telephony), the new connection has certainly met our expectations as it relates to capacity and QOS.\u201d<\/p>\n

FSU (specifically) hasn\u2019t explored commercial services for the community, but our use of the network will certainly ensure we\u2019re meeting the academic and research needs of our constituents. I suspect additional K-12\/business wins will certainly come as these entities jump onto the network. MDREN will be meeting with members of the Western IT Centers of Excellence (https:\/\/www.itexcellence.org) in November.<\/p>\n

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MDREN Partners with Virginia-Based Shenandoah Telecommunications Company<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Baltimore, Md. (Jan. 26, 2021) \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (\u201cShentel\u201d) (Nasdaq: SHEN), a leading provider of fiber-optic services in the Mid-Atlantic region, has announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Maryland Research and Education Network (MDREN<\/a>),\u00a0a technology service provider at the University System of Maryland (USM), to connect USM campuses, including the University of Maryland, College Park flagship campus to Frostburg State University,\u00a0with high-speed fiber network services. The project will give vastly improved connectivity resources to underserved and unserved students in the area who need access to remote learning.<\/p>\n

Shentel Business will provide a unique fiber route that will pass through\u00a0Berkeley Springs, WV, then through Hancock and Cumberland, finally ending at Frostburg in Maryland. The fiber installation will run along Route 40, providing new network connection opportunities for not only the USM\u2019s western-most campus in Frostburg, but for\u00a0other educational institutions and\u00a0the underserved business communities throughout Western Maryland as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cShentel Business\u2019 continued expansion underscores our commitment to the state of Maryland\u2019s businesses and organizations that are in need of more network connectivity options to fuel their growth,\u201d said Craig Venable, Vice President of Commercial Sales, Shentel Business. \u201cBe it health care, education, manufacturing or other sectors, our world-class fiber network will provide needed technology across the entire commercial spectrum.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shentel\u2019s corporate mission is to provide rural communities the same advanced communications technologies and services as those found in larger metropolitan areas. In keeping with this commitment, Shentel Business partnered with MDREN to bring fiber through Western Maryland.\u00a0 This partnership will enable Shentel Business to offer dedicated, Ethernet-based network connections with internet speeds from 20 Mbps up to 100 Gbps that are symmetrical and supported by service-level guarantees.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis partnership is a great example of public-private partnership collaboration at its best. Together, MDREN is able to address unserved educational communities while Shentel steers its resources toward addressing unserved business communities in Western Maryland,\u201d said MDREN Executive Director Ray Barghi. \u201cWe are pleased that in this partnership with Shentel, MDREN continues to emerge as a champion for unserved, underserved and underprivileged communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information about Shentel Business, please visit\u00a0www.shentelbusiness.com<\/a>\u00a0or call 1-800-SHENTEL (1-800-743-6835).<\/p>\n

About Shenandoah Telecommunications<\/strong>
\nShenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel) provides a broad range of diversified communications services through its high speed, state-of-the-art wireless, cable and fiber optic networks to customers in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The Company\u2019s services include: wireless voice and data; broadband internet, video, and digital voice; fiber optic Ethernet, wavelength and leasing; telephone voice and digital subscriber line; and tower colocation leasing. Shentel is the exclusive personal communications service (\u201cPCS\u201d) Affiliate of Sprint in a multi-state area covering large portions of central and western Virginia, south-central Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and portions of Maryland, Kentucky, and Ohio. For more information, please visit\u00a0www.shentel.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About MDREN<\/strong>
\nMDREN is a significant technology service provider at the University System of Maryland.\u00a0MDREN provides advanced network and professional service to more than 40 education, research, and public service institutions throughout Maryland and connections to regional and national resources.\u00a0<\/em>Since 1989 MDREN has been the trusted partner for accelerating education and research through collaboration, partnerships, and broadband connectivity for K-20 institutions in Maryland.\u00a0For more information, please visit www.mdren.net<\/em><\/p>\n

The<\/em>\u00a0USM<\/a>\u00a0comprises 12 institutions and three regional centers. Systemwide, student enrollment exceeds 172,000. The USM and its institutions compete successfully nearly $1.5 billion in external grants and contracts annually. USM institutions and programs are among the nation’s best in quality and value according to several national rankings.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ###<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UPDATE:\u00a0 Western Maryland Fiber Project – August 30, 2022   Project Update: The Western Maryland connectivity enhancement project is live. The project brought 10GB of service to Frostburg State University. … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mdren.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1670"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mdren.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mdren.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mdren.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mdren.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1670"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.mdren.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1670\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1788,"href":"https:\/\/www.mdren.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1670\/revisions\/1788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mdren.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mdren.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mdren.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}