Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Tech Companies Partner to Bring Cellular Coverage to Schools

  • By Matt Jones
  • 04/21/22

Two tech companies—Athonet, which offers private network technology solutions, and BearCom, a wireless integrator—recently announced that they are partnering to bring private cellular coverage including LTE, 5G and CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service) to North American schools. The companies will offer private LTE proof-of-concepts and installations as wireless solutions that meet the necessary standards of security, capacity and reliability, according to a news release.

“When developing a private network, our customers rely on us to provide a mobile core that is proven, reliable and secure,” said Mike Owen, chief technology officer for BearCom. “Athonet has delivered thousands of LTE, 4G/5G and CBRS mission-critical networks across the globe in the same verticals where we are focused.”

One recent installation for the Fort Worth Independent School District in Fort Worth, Texas, brought a private LTE network using CBRS to more than 4,000 students. Athonet’s EPC LTE mobile core was installed at the school district’s data center, while BearCom provided other vendors to bring materials like the Spectrum Access System, home routers, CBRS eNodeBs and radio access network software.

“Organizations are beginning to understand the benefits of private networks but need an integrator that can bring all the vendors together to deliver business results,” said Simon O'Donnell, president of Athonet USA.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey

    Spaces4Learning recently launched the 2026 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey, which collects data on the previous year’s K–12 and higher education construction projects nationwide.

  • Q&A: How to Prevent Kitchen Grease Fires in Commercial Kitchens

    School cafeterias and university dining halls serve thousands of meals daily, relying on high-heat equipment like fryers, grills, and ovens. While these operations keep students fed, they also generate significant grease-laden vapors. Without proper controls, this grease becomes a silent fire threat. As a certified exhaust cleaning specialist and business coach who has helped hundreds of institutional facilities achieve NFPA 96 compliance, I emphasize that proactive grease management isn’t optional; it’s a core fire/life safety practice.

  • Dallas ISD Voters Approve $6.2B Bond Package

    Dallas ISD voters have approved a record-setting $6.2-billion bond package that district leaders say will modernize aging campuses, eliminate portable classrooms and reshape learning environments across one of the nation’s largest school systems.

  • Opportunity by Design Framework

    Opportunity by Design

    Educational improvement efforts often focus on curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional development, and intervention systems while treating the physical school building as background. But school design is not a passive backdrop to learning — it is a structural lever for equity.