NJ Schools Connect at 165 Halsey MMR

New Jersey university and government networks will save money by interconnecting at the meet me room at 165 Halsey Street, an Internet Gateway facility in Newark, N.J. That's where 4Connections, a New Jersey and New York metro lit and dark fiber provider has hooked up the State of New Jersey, Kean University, Union County College, and Monmouth and Union Counties.

By connecting all these networks together, all participants gain secure, private and inexpensive Internet access, voice and data services. Kean University and Union County College also have access to video portals and Internet 2, connecting them with more than 200 other U.S. universities that develop and deploy network applications and technologies for research and higher education.

"Our meet-me-room at 165 Halsey is a great place to get carriers and network providers to compete for your business," says Tom Traugott of Tishman Real Estate Services, Owners Representative and Leasing Agent for 165 Halsey Street. "After connecting to a carrier hotel, customers realize they have a lot more control over both their network and the pricing they get from carriers, a great situation for local governments and universities. They can then pass on the cost savings to residents, students and taxpayers."

"By participating in this project we can now purchase voice and data services essentially at wholesale prices, a huge benefit to the University," states Joe Marinello, Director of IT at Kean University. "We cut our Internet bandwidth costs in half, while increasing our throughput ten-fold."

Union County College and the County of Union have vastly improved their access to Internet based-services for students, faculty and staff. "We have increased our Internet throughput speeds from 15 mbps to over 100 mbps, at a fraction of the cost of our previous provider," continues Dr. Jack Farrell, Vice President for Administrative Services at Union County College. "We're now able to connect the County of Union with high-speed Internet access at no additional cost, improving their services while controlling taxpayers' expenses."

4Connections is also providing the State of New Jersey a fiber route to 165 Halsey, in turn supporting the interconnection of Kean University, Union County College and participating counties with virtually unlimited bandwidth. 165 Halsey houses dozens of carrier networks, allowing customers to select service providers by competitive pricing and/or bandwidth services. The interconnection also allows the State of New Jersey to share services with local, county and other state governments.