Customer story · Education
99.99% Uptime. Zero Outages. Fixed Wireless.
American Internet Group turned to Metro Wireless to replace unreliable fiber and cable circuits at Detroit and Pontiac schools with point-to-point fixed wireless microwave, ending the internet outages that had been forcing student dismissals.

About American Internet Group
American Internet Group consults clients on a range of commercial and residential technology solutions, specializing in high-speed internet access, cable TV and phone services. Acting on behalf of schools in Detroit and Pontiac, Michigan, it is responsible for delivering the highly reliable, high-speed connectivity that school operations depend on, including attendance, state testing, bells and classroom learning. The company is led by CEO John Edwards.

The challenge
Before Metro Wireless, American Internet Group struggled to provide high-quality internet access for schools in Pontiac and Detroit because of heavy reliance on unreliable incumbent providers. Frequent, prolonged outages, especially during storms or after infrastructure problems such as copper theft and fiber cuts, severely disrupted school operations.
Internet access is essential for attendance, state testing, bells and learning, so any outage exceeding one hour forced student dismissals and derailed the school day. Traditional failover solutions failed as backups because they often shared the same vulnerable ground-level infrastructure.
Provider options were limited to a choice between one incumbent's high cost and another's unreliability, and neither offered sufficient uptime guarantees. Providers had also missed critical deadlines for FCC-funded circuits and misrepresented the bandwidth they actually delivered, compounding the problem.
We've been very happy with Metro Wireless — top-notch reliability, excellent service, and no more school closures. Their fixed wireless solution just works, rain or shine.
The solution
Metro Wireless addressed the schools' connectivity needs by deploying a fixed wireless microwave solution engineered explicitly for maximum reliability. Dedicated 11 GHz point-to-point antennas were installed at strategic locations, including a downtown building and a school, creating direct line-of-sight connections that are immune to ground-level issues such as copper theft or construction cuts.
The service is delivered as dedicated internet access with a 99.99% uptime guarantee and rapid on-site support. The system performed consistently through Michigan's seasonal extremes, unaffected by harsh winters or summer storms, and the reliable connection allowed the schools to manage bandwidth and prioritize network traffic effectively.
Metro Wireless also met the strict July 1 deadlines required for turning up FCC-funded school circuits, where previous providers had fallen short. The solution offers scalable bandwidth, with upgrades to 5 Gbps connections underway, and is supported by dedicated account management with assigned contacts for ongoing needs and future planning.

The results
- Internet-related school dismissals eliminated, keeping attendance, state testing and daily operations running
- 99.99% uptime guarantee met the schools' critical operational needs
- Service proved resilient year-round, unaffected by weather, copper theft or fiber cuts
- Strict July 1 turn-up deadlines for FCC-funded school circuits met reliably
- Reliable links enabled effective bandwidth management and network prioritization
- K-12 success opened the door to 5 Gbps upgrades and expansion to community colleges



Get the full case study
Download the original document as published by Metro Wireless (PDF, 852.6 KB).
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