Even though school is officially out for the summer, the doors to several Ashe County schools are wide open with activity, from summer school and sports and technology camps to construction and operational projects, including improvements to their communications services and systems. The school system has been working with SkyBest Communications on several telecommunications-related enhancements at the schools in the past few years, and the latest projects have included local service and new phone and paging systems for the high school and a campus wireless network for all five schools in the county.

By changing local service providers, the Ashe County High School is getting a new telephone number. To help make the transition a bit easier, only the prefix number will change, so instead of 246-2400, the new number will be 846-2400. The new number is effective July 1, and SkyBest is helping to make the public (and especially school parents) aware of the school's new number through its customer newsletter, news releases to local media and other school communications.

Along with local service, the school chose a Voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephone system. This system is feature-rich with voice mail and seven-digit numbers for every phone extension. A combination of the new system and ISDN/PRI, a special interface, will allow each phone to have a unique 911 address. An emergency call placed from any phone throughout the school's facilities will deliver the caller's exact location to the dispatcher. The school previously did not have either voice mail or direct-dial numbers assigned to most of the phones in the building.

The school's new paging system is designed especially for school environments and will provide broader coverage, reaching areas that did not have paging access previously. The paging system is integrated with the phone system, which means SkyBest as the single provider will maintain both phone and paging systems.

Another significant addition to all five schools in the county (Blue Ridge, Mountain View, Westwood, Ashe County Middle and Ashe County High) will be the installation of a campus wireless network, which is part of SkyBest's most recent service offerings: data network solutions. Wi-Fi is short for "Wireless Fidelity," which is used to commonly describe the underlying technology of wireless local area networks (WLAN). The WiFi network will enable students and faculty to maintain mobile connectivity throughout the school campus and have access to network resources, including school schedules and announcements.

"Realizing the vital role public education plays in our community, we value the opportunity to offer technology-based communications services and support that will complement the schools' commitment to providing a top-notch primary and secondary education to the young people of this area," said John Dixon, SkyLine Chief Executive Officer.

SkyBest Communications, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SkyLine Membership Corporation, a telecommunications cooperative that serves Alleghany, Ashe, Avery and Watauga counties in North Carolina and Johnson County in east Tennessee. SkyBest offers de-regulated products and services, including local calling services, business systems and networking solutions, broadband Internet services and long distance.