Gateway Fiber’s E-Rate division WANRack, a leading provider of custom fiber networks for K‑12 school districts nationwide, joined Columbia County School District and United Data Technologies on December 2 to break ground on a dedicated private fiber Wide Area Network (WAN) that will connect every school in the district. The new infrastructure is designed to deliver scalable bandwidth, robust security, and rock-solid reliability to classrooms across Columbia County.

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On December 2, representatives from WANRack, UDT, and Columbia County School District broke ground on construction of a new fiber internet infrastructure to link all of the district schools on a private high-speed network.

“What a great day for Columbia County Schools,” said CCSD Superintendent Keith Couey in a district press release. “This network will ensure our teachers and students have the connectivity to empower excellence in the classroom. I want to thank UDT, WANRack, and the State of Florida for delivering the future of education for our district. We are now at the forefront of innovation in the connectivity space, and I know our students will feel the positive effects.”

Transforming Connectivity for CCSD

The private fiber WAN will ensure that students in Columbia County’s rural and more densely populated areas have the same high-speed, low-latency access to digital learning tools, virtual classrooms, and cloud-based resources.

“Today marks the day we start building a multi-lane superhighway for learning,” said Patrick Mitchell, Director of Technology Infrastructure and Networking, CCSD. “This dedicated, private fiber network is one of the most important infrastructure decisions this district will make for a generation. Columbia County is diverse, and true equity means ensuring that a student in our most rural school has the exact same access and latency as a student in the most populated area.”

By moving to a purpose-built network, the district is improving uptime, reducing congestion, and creating a platform that can support growing bandwidth needs for years to come. Leveraging federal funding and state construction support, the project also positions CCSD to reduce long-term connectivity costs while expanding educational opportunity.

WANRack’s Role and Perspective

As the project’s engineering and construction partner, WANRack is designing and building a custom, high-capacity fiber architecture tailored to CCSD’s instructional and operational priorities. The network will follow WANRack’s dedicated “homerun” fiber design, delivering resilient, scalable connectivity from each school site back to the district hub to support advanced applications, security systems, and future technology initiatives.

“For more than a decade, we’ve been building custom, high-capacity fiber networks for schools, municipalities, and businesses nationwide,” said Denice Weybrew, Director of Business Development at WANRack. “We’re excited to bring that experience to Columbia County and help its teachers and students succeed. This new fiber network will give the district’s schools the reliable connectivity and security they need to thrive for years to come.”

WANRack’s long track record of building private fiber WANs for school districts nationwide helps ensure the Columbia County project is both future-proof and cost-effective.

Partnership and Community Impact

The groundbreaking marks a major milestone in a public‑private partnership among CCSD, UDT, and WANRack, aligning district leadership, technology experts, and community stakeholders around a shared vision for equity and innovation. District leaders have emphasized that the private fiber network will permanently close internal connectivity gaps, ensuring that location within the county no longer limits a student’s access to digital tools or learning opportunities. Beyond classrooms, the upgraded network will also bolster workforce development initiatives and community programs that depend on robust, secure connectivity.

About WANRack

Gateway Fiber’s E-Rate division, WANRack, specializes in providing private fiber optic WAN solutions for K-12 school districts across the United States, offering lit and dark fiber as well as special construction options that align with E-Rate and other funding programs. Headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas, WANRack’s engineering-led approach focuses on secure, scalable, and cost‑effective networks that provide school districts with long-term control over their connectivity. Since its founding in 2013, WANRack has installed over 230 fiber WANs (private and open access networks) across 26 states. For more information, visit wanrack.com.

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“Today marks the day we start building a multi-lane superhighway for learning,” said Patrick Mitchell, Director of Technology Infrastructure and Networking, CCSD.