No, FIBER20 traffic comes directly to your district unfiltered. If using FIBER20 DNS servers, all name resolution requests will be routed through Cisco’s OpenDNS servers to offer basic protection against known phishing and malware sites. This offers basic protection and should not be considered a replacement for category-based content filtering.
Although not required, FIBER20 is able to host public DNS zones for client districts as a primary or secondary source. In the case of hosting a primary zone, FIBER20 DNS hosting does not provide a self-service portal, so all DNS record change requests must come through FIBER20 support.
Although you are not required to use them, FIBER20 does have the following public DNS servers that can be used as forwarders if needed:
ns1.esc20.net
ns2.esc20.net
FIBER20 offers 10Gb of bandwidth per internet access circuit handed off with an SR SFP+ optic. A district with two FIBER20 internet access circuits will have an aggregated 20Gb of available bandwidth.
If your network infrastructure does not support 10Gb fiber, we can hand off a 1Gb copper connection until you are ready to utilize your full 10Gb of available bandwidth. We will always schedule a transition discussion with each district before scheduling a cutover, where we discuss all of the details necessary to ensure a smooth service transition.
Yes, we can configure Layer 2 services to provide connectivity with other districts. This can provide opportunities for shared services, offsite disaster recovery, and more.
It is important to note that in order to provide this, both districts must be on FIBER20 connections.
The FIBER20 NOC monitors the network 24/7/365 and will probably know that you are down before you do, however in the event that we do not, you can use any of the following to notify us:
- Submit a ticket through the FIBER20tx.net website
- Send an email to support@FIBER20tx.net
- Call FIBER20 Support at: 817-740-7711
Once we know that your district is down, we will begin working on restoring the service immediately and communicate progress directly to you until service is restored.
In the case of a multiple district outage, we will communicate this on the www.FIBER20tx.net website, on Twitter through our @FIBER20TXNetwork account, and via email, to the primary POC, we have on file. We will communicate resolution ETAs and service restoration messages this way as well.
Reverse lookup zones are maintained for each FIBER20 client’s allocated IP space. Any reverse lookup record additions or changes can be requested through FIBER20 support.
All FIBER20 services are billed on a quarterly or annual basis. We offer the flexibility of variable agreement lengths, billing dates, and billing methods and will do everything we can to fit your district’s billing needs. Here are some scenarios in which we can help:
- A district prefers a 1-year annual term
- A district prefers a 10-year term
- A district prefers to pay up front for 3 years
- A district prefers to be billed quarterly
- A district needs the agreement to begin on July 1 instead of September 1
Let us know how we can help.
FIBER20 is committed to providing the highest quality network service possible and guarantees to meet the Service Objectives set forth in the FIBER20 Edge Site Collaborative SLA. This document is truly collaborative in that it was created based on input from all consortium members and can only be modified with a majority vote of participating consortium members. Some of the key objectives are:
- 99.99% Service Availability
- < 30 Minute Response Time
- < 2 Hour On-Site Response Time
- Packet Loss < .50%
- Latency < 20 ms
- Packet Jitter < 5 ms per 20 Minutes
The full Collaborative SLA documents are linked below:
- FIBER20 Edge Site Collaborative SLA
- FIBER20 Hub Site Collaborative SLA (Applicable to Hub Sites)
FIBER20 offers pricing tiers based on student count in order to provide the steepest discounts to the smallest and most rural school districts while remaining equitable to large school districts. Pricing shown below is Not-To-Exceed pricing and is contingent on FCC/TEA funding. This means that further project cost assistance from the government in the future may decrease pricing to districts, but the pricing will never increase. Pricing shown is after E-rate discounts and cannot be E-rate discounted further.
| Number of Students | Year 1-4 Monthly District Cost per Circuit | Year 5-10 Monthly District Cost per Circuit | Ten Year Cost | Average Per Month Ten years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-999 | $ 600.00 | $ 400.00 | $ 57,600 | $ 480 |
| 1000-3999 | $ 1,400.00 | $ 1,100.00 | $ 146,400 | $ 1,220 |
| 4000-8000 | $ 2,100.00 | $ 1,800.00 | $ 230,400 | $ 1,920 |
| 8000+ | $ 2,300.00 | $ 2,000.00 | $ 254,400 | $ 2,120 |
ESC20 handles all of the administrative E-rate side of this Category 1 project. As the Fiscal Agent for the consortium, it is ESC20’s responsibility to comply with submission deadlines, audit paper trails, and project information requests.
Therefore, districts are not responsible for filing any additional paperwork through USAC directly for FIBER20 participation. ESC20 will administer this for you, and simply ask you to complete the required documents and return them for submission.
However, this does not mean that districts do not have other E-rate responsibilities. For example, districts are still responsible for filing for their own Category 2 E-rate discounts.
FIBER20 services are available to all member districts in the ESC Region 20 Consortium. This includes public, private, and charter schools within ESC Region 20’s geographic boundaries who have opted into the consortium. If you aren’t sure if your district has opted in, contact your local Technology Director or Superintendent.
FIBER20 is funded primarily through E-rate and special construction discounts available through USAC, the FCC, and the TEA. E-rate Modernization Order coupled with Governor Greg Abbott’s Classroom Connectivity initiative has allowed for the consortium to make huge leaps in establishing high-speed high-availability broadband for North Texas students, teachers, and administrators.
The FIBER20 network was designed by a team of experts experienced in the design and implementation of large-scale global networks. FIBER20 utilizes Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) to transport network traffic across hundreds of miles of new fiber through districts who have volunteered to serve as Hub Sites. The network is resilient around Northern and Southern rings with instantaneous failover in the event of a fiber cut. Resiliency like this is not even offered by big-name ISPs.
Each circuit is meticulously tested for connectivity and signal strength tolerances utilizing OTDR and Power Meter testing before any equipment is placed in-line. The FIBER20 network core is located at the Taylor Street datacenter with fail over control at Region 20. Network and member districts benefit from the following:
- Video surveillance 24/7/365
- Secure biometric access into the data center
- Two distinct 100Gb service provider connections with diverse building entrances and fiber paths
- Generator backup
FIBER20 is an acronym that stands for Fiber Infrastructure for Broadband Enhancement in Region 20.
The FIBER20 NOC (Network Operation Center) is a team comprised of ESC Region 20 Technology staff and Zayo, our implementation partner. In some cases, authorized subcontractors are used for repairs and construction activities. Please contact us if you ever have any questions or concerns about any communications with the FIBER20 NOC team.
Tom Grove
Network Architect/Engineer
Education Service Center, Region 20
1314 Hines Avenue, San Antonio, TX 78208-1899
Ph: (210) 370-5656
Fax: (210) 503-6501
After Hours Contact
Zayo Tech Support
Email: pn-ncc@zayo.com
Ph: 866-2366-2824 option 1, 1, 6
FIBER20 status updates, maintenance windows, and outages will be communicated through the www.FIBER20tx.net website and through the @FIBER20TXNetwork Twitter account. Feel free to follow this account for immediate news and updates.