New Initiative Seeking to Bring Increased Connectivity to Nebraska School Districts
(Lincoln, NE) The Nebraska Association of School Boards (NASB) has launched a new wireless infrastructure program, from NASB exclusive provider Diamond Communications, a private wireless infrastructure company, with the goal of providing increased cell connectivity to Nebraska public school districts and surrounding communities.
“We are very excited to launch our new program, ConnectNE. Reliable cellular service is critical, especially during emergencies, and through this initiative, districts can proactively market properties to the wireless carriers for the development of new communication towers. School Districts now have the opportunity to strengthen communication, support student learning, enhance safety in our schools and create opportunities to generate revenue from leasing district land for new communication towers or other infrastructure,” said NASB COO Sallie Horky.
Data shows that approximately 50% of school districts in Nebraska have at least one major carrier with unreliable coverage. Nebraska school districts are increasingly depending on reliable cellular connectivity to handle both everyday operations and emergency responses at schools. Strong service allows for seamless communication between staff, students, and families. Because coverage quality often depends on the location and capacity of nearby infrastructure, collaborating with an experienced wireless infrastructure partner to market district properties to a range of carriers could help schools strengthen on-campus connectivity.
“We are excited to work alongside NASB to help Nebraska’s school districts improve cellular service,” said Peter Woodbury, President of Strategic Partnerships at Diamond Communications. “Placing infrastructure on school properties allows for stronger, more dependable connectivity for students, educators, emergency responders and surrounding communities. This partnership gives districts a more efficient path to strengthen wireless coverage around their facilities. Together, Diamond and NASB will unlock new benefits for schools and provide carriers with a more dependable and predictable path to improved connectivity.”
Through the ConnectNE program, Diamond will help to identify carrier coverage gaps, market school properties, and develop sites for wireless infrastructure on district-owned land — all at no cost to the school districts. School districts benefit from improved service with the opportunity to generate revenue for their school from any cell tower deployments.
About NASB
The Nebraska Association of School Boards (NASB) is a private, nonprofit organization that serves the needs of Nebraska’s public schools. Since 1918, NASB has been committed to serving school boards across the state. NASB provides advocacy, consultation, board development, and training, as well as, district support-service programs for our members. The programs are managed by a professional staff, and governance oversight is carried out by a statewide Board of Directors consisting of school board members elected by their peers.
About Diamond Communications
Diamond was founded in 2006 and owns/manages over 4,000 tenanted wireless communication sites in the United States as well as other communications infrastructure, including fiber, distributed antenna systems, managed WiFi and public safety systems. Over the last several years, Diamond and its shareholders have invested approximately $2 billion of capital into various assets. Diamond has offices throughout the United States and also markets over 500,000 third-party properties and structures for wireless infrastructure in all fifty states. Diamond has longstanding relationships with the wireless carriers, first responders, and other wireless and fiber users. For more information, please visit www.diamondcomm.com/school-board-partnerships.