Valley Schools to Receive New Fiber Optic Network

Sixty-eight public schools in the West San Fernando Valley will gain free access to a high-speed fiber optic network under a 15-year deal announced Monday with a local cable service provider.

In exchange for space on eight of the campuses to house communications facilities, Time Warner Communications will connect the schools to its state-of-the-art service free of charge.

“We’re giving the LAUSD a $2-million fiber network capability. . . . What we get out of that is that instead of us going out to buy property, we are using a piece of unused LAUSD turf for this tiny structure,” said David J. Auger, Time Warner Communications vice president and general manager.

The technology will provide the schools with not only networking capabilities but also Internet access, video conferencing, the sharing of resources and a process called distant learning, said Debbie Leidner, a West Valley cluster administrator for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Leidner said distant learning can allow a teacher at one site to teach students scattered throughout the district--an especially useful tool for subjects of narrow interest.

“It allows us to use the resources we have in a more efficient manner,” she said.

A small building will be constructed at each of the eight host campuses to house “passive electronic equipment,” Auger said. The deal is for 15 years, with two five-year extensions.