Operating behind the scenes and without fanfare, Northland Pioneer College’s technology and maintenance departments work day in and day out to provide the resources and ability for education to happen 24-7, 365 days a year at the college’s four campuses and five center locations. With enormous advancements in technology and increasing demands, NPC has remained committed to providing education in hybrid distance learning environments as well as in the traditional classroom to as many as possible. Here are a few things you may not know:
- NPC’s data/technology and broadband network covers roughly 22,000 square miles in both Navajo and Apache Counties.
- NPC has eight (8) telecommunication broadcasting towers of its own (one on each campus in Winslow, Holbrook, Snowflake and Show Low), and one at Whiteriver Point, (Fort Apache Reservation); McKays Peak, (Fort Apache Reservation); Greens Peak, (Apache-Sitgreaves); and Dry Lake, (Near the wind farm in Navajo County). In addition, NPC runs signal off shared towers at Porter Mountain, (Apache-Sitgreaves); Admin Bute, (Navajo County Complex); and Graveyard Hill, (Apache County).
- NPC operates fifteen (15) microwave connections on various towers in locations all over Navajo and Apache Counties.
- NPC and Navajo County share an intergovernmental agreement allowing Navajo County extended broadband capabilities and radio access for emergency services and police communication traffic. Recently, the cities of Show Low, Snowflake and Taylor entered into similar agreements with NPC for use of the college’s technical infrastructure for law enforcement, emergency and city communications.
- NPC maintains a snow-cat vehicle for accessing remote and primitive areas for tech maintenance needs. Electric generators and layers of infrastructure redundancy ensure back-up in outage situations.
- Within minutes, NPC’s RAVE Alert System notifies nearly 4,000 students, faculty, staff, media and local officials of emergency and/or closure situations via voice calls, emails and mobile text messages.
- NPC has been developing and expanding its tech and communication infrastructure since the mid 1980s.
Now that’s an investment in education and in the local community.
