LAS VEGAS – Cox Communications, in partnership with the 100 Black Men of Las Vegas and Imagine Schools, is announcing the deployment of a Cox Business 1-Gigabit fiber optic Internet connection to the 100 Academy of Excellence, a charter school with grades K-8 operated by Imagine Schools. As a result, Cox Las Vegas has created the first school in Nevada to boast a direct Internet connection with Gigabit broadband service. To highlight the varied uses of the school’s new connectivity, Cox Las Vegas will perform a live, multi-layered demonstration of the capabilities offered through fiber optic Gigabit Internet service at the 100 Academy of Excellence, 2341 Comstock Dr. in North Las Vegas, at 10 a. m. on March 26.

“We could not be more excited about rolling out this extremely fast Internet service to the 100 Academy of Excellence,” said Mike Bolognini, market vice president at Cox Las Vegas. “This high-end speed opens up new vistas for the administrators, faculty and students of the 100 Academy and will aid them in managing the demands of learning as it continues to evolve into the virtual space while simultaneously allowing the school’s IT staff to efficiently manage their network capabilities.”

Peggy M. Selma, principal of the 100 Academy of Excellence notes, "The Gigabit speed Cox is providing will allow us to introduce vastly higher levels of collaborative online learning than was not previously possible on our hard-wired PCs and allows the introduction of tablet learning. The additional broadband capacity will enable a better student user experience in conjunction with the state Criterion Referenced Test (CRT) and the pending district-wide rollout of Smarter Balanced student testing in the 2014-2015 school year."  

Brian Pauling, president of the 100 Black Men of Las Vegas, an organization that maintains an affiliation and partnership with the100 Academy of Excellence, noted,  "Cox Communications has been a longtime supporter of the 100 Black Men of Las Vegas in our efforts to support the community, specifically in the areas of education and mentoring. It is our vision that the 100 Academy of Excellence serve as an 'oasis in the desert,' a place where the children and families served can learn life sustaining skills and obtain an exceptional education. This most recent collaboration is one more step toward achieving the vision."

Cox is preparing a sophisticated, real-world, live demonstration of its Gigabit fiber optic service through numerous, layered activities. These activities will highlight the enormous data transfer capabilities of Gigabit fiber optic service as it moves 120 years' worth of digitized National Geographic magazines across the Cox network to the school and a separate demo involving a file transfer of the 32-book set of the Encyclopedia Britannica. In addition, Cox will launch dozens of live streaming sessions on hard-wired PCs, as well as on Wi-Fi enabled tablet PCs and then insert dozens more simultaneous videoconferencing streams during a collaborative learning session with students and an instructor at an offsite location. With the above activities in progress, a simulated back-up of the school's data server will be initialized.

While the new fiber optic service to the 100 Academy of Excellence makes it the first non-higher ed school facility in Nevada with a Gigabit Internet connection, Cox has deployed Gig connectivity to various school districts in other Cox markets. The company has long been a trusted partner to schools and libraries throughout its service territory in providing broadband access and other connectivity needs. It has seen firsthand how these needs have evolved and expanded as educators deploy new digital learning technology.

The 100 Academy of Excellence can now simultaneously handle intense online activities, manage Wi-Fi network demands, initiate multi-session videoconferencing, administer online testing and launch data backups without experiencing connectivity issues. In fact, with its new Cox fiber optic connection, the Academy could allow its 700 students to web surf and access online resources simultaneously.

Cox Business has been offering fiber-optic speeds to Southern Nevada clients since 2003. Last year, the company signed a five-year agreement to provide 10-Gigabit Internet service to 3.2 million square feet of convention, public area and back office space at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

About Imagine Schools
Imagine Schools is a national family of 69 public charter schools educating more than 36,000 students in 11 states and the District of Columbia. Imagine Schools partners with parents and guardians to educate their children, providing high quality schools that prepare students for lives of leadership, accomplishment, and exemplary character. Más información en www.imagineschools.com.

Acerca de Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a broadband communications and entertainment company, providing advanced digital video, Internet and telephone services over its own nationwide IP network. The third-largest U.S. cable TV company, Cox serves approximately 6 million residences and businesses. Cox Business is a facilities-based provider of voice, video and data solutions for commercial customers, and Cox Media is a full-service provider of national and local cable spot and new media advertising. Cox is known for its pioneering efforts in cable telephone and commercial services, industry-leading customer care and its outstanding workplaces. For seven years, Cox has been recognized as the top operator for women by Women in Cable Telecommunications; Cox has ranked among DiversityInc's Top 50 Companies for Diversity eight times, including the last seven years. More information about Cox Communications, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, is available at www.cox.com/espanol y www.coxmedia.com.