Kirtland's M-TEC to benefit from new M-33 technology
Issue date: 10/25/07 Section: News
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A new tower in Gaylord and new tech-nology in Johannesburg has extended M33 Access' giant footprint in Northern Michi-gan, providing expansions that significantly upgrade Internet service for thousands of students in several schools and Kirtland Community College while saving taxpayers thousands of dollars.
M33 Access, the Rose City-based Internet service provider, built a small tower at the M-TEC at Kirtland-Gaylord that will greatly expand bandwidth needed to support the facility's soaring enrollment.
With displaced workers from the closing of more than a dozen businesses in the area and the addition of a sonography (ultrasound technology) program, enrollment at the M-TEC is up more than 50 percent from last fall, said former M-TEC Provost Doty Latuszak, who recently left Kirtland for a post at a Kentucky college.
"More and more, we're doing online, Web-enhanced programming with videos and so forth," she said.
"Now all the programs, our registration, the admittance of students, all the functions of the college are now connected. We really needed to connect our two networks."
The connection was made with the new tower and radio technology installed 140 feet off the ground on a 180-foot tower behind Johannesburg-Lewiston High School, which relays the signal to Kirtland's main campus.
"It's something of a technological marvel," said Glenn A. Wilson, Sr., M33 Access presi-dent and CEO.
"That link from Kirtland to Jo-berg is 34 miles, with plenty of good signal," Wilson said.
"If there are 30-mile links out there on this planet with that equipment, you can count them on one hand. We've exceeded the theoretical limit on it."
Better yet, it's saving the college untold thousands of dollars, said Tim Scherer, Kirtland's director of institutional services.
"It's cheaper than the competition, for sure," Scherer said. "We're looking at $1,400-$1,600 per month for M33's service. The other bid we got was $2,100 - for about one-third the speed."
"We are thrilled to be able to provide this kind of 21st-century technology for the young people in our region while building an infrastructure that will continue to serve these communities for years to come," Wilson said. "We at M33 Access believe it is absolutely essential for every student to have access to high-speed Internet service in order to compete in tomorrow's challenging global economy."
M33 Access, the Rose City-based Internet service provider, built a small tower at the M-TEC at Kirtland-Gaylord that will greatly expand bandwidth needed to support the facility's soaring enrollment.
With displaced workers from the closing of more than a dozen businesses in the area and the addition of a sonography (ultrasound technology) program, enrollment at the M-TEC is up more than 50 percent from last fall, said former M-TEC Provost Doty Latuszak, who recently left Kirtland for a post at a Kentucky college.
"More and more, we're doing online, Web-enhanced programming with videos and so forth," she said.
"Now all the programs, our registration, the admittance of students, all the functions of the college are now connected. We really needed to connect our two networks."
The connection was made with the new tower and radio technology installed 140 feet off the ground on a 180-foot tower behind Johannesburg-Lewiston High School, which relays the signal to Kirtland's main campus.
"It's something of a technological marvel," said Glenn A. Wilson, Sr., M33 Access presi-dent and CEO.
"That link from Kirtland to Jo-berg is 34 miles, with plenty of good signal," Wilson said.
"If there are 30-mile links out there on this planet with that equipment, you can count them on one hand. We've exceeded the theoretical limit on it."
Better yet, it's saving the college untold thousands of dollars, said Tim Scherer, Kirtland's director of institutional services.
"It's cheaper than the competition, for sure," Scherer said. "We're looking at $1,400-$1,600 per month for M33's service. The other bid we got was $2,100 - for about one-third the speed."
"We are thrilled to be able to provide this kind of 21st-century technology for the young people in our region while building an infrastructure that will continue to serve these communities for years to come," Wilson said. "We at M33 Access believe it is absolutely essential for every student to have access to high-speed Internet service in order to compete in tomorrow's challenging global economy."
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