WiscNet Services
WiscNet offers a range of services and solutions that support your organization and its mission. Just like our network backbone, these resources are built to serve the research and education community. Our primary service, network access, provides unlimited, equitable and high-speed internet.
WiscNet’s primary service is network access (aka internet transit). WiscNet connects K-12 districts, colleges, universities, libraries, museums, municipalities, and health care organizations to the internet for an annual fixed fee based on the organization’s mission and size of the population served. This network access service provides unlimited, unmeasured Internet usage via a scalable, high-speed, redundant backbone for a fixed annual fee, without any increased data or transport capacity costs.
Network Access
WiscNet Connect +1 allows WiscNet member organizations to utilize multiple connections from your site to the WiscNet backbone. Whether to increase reliability, simply to add capacity, or connect a campus directly to WiscNet, Connect +1 provides support for the increasingly critical network access members need.
Connect +1
Security
We help safeguard your data and infrastructure against evolving cyber threats and sensitive internet content. We do this by offering a number of security services, including co-managed firewalls, digital student safety, virtual access to a Chief Information Security Officer and a security assessment.
eduroam
eduroam (education roaming) is a secure, worldwide roaming access service developed for the research and education community. Participating K-20 faculty, teachers, students, and staff enjoy uninterrupted Wi-Fi at and in between all educational sites in their region and around the globe.
Security Services
Co-Managed Firewalls
WiscNet co-manages devices from two firewall providers: Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks. The co-managed model combines WiscNet’s security expertise with two firewall technologies to deliver advanced threat prevention, deep visibility, and operational support without fully outsourcing your organization’s firewall management.
Security Assessment (pentesting)
WiscNet now offers a Security Assessment Service: Penetration Testing (pentesting) via VIPRE Security Group. Usually extremely costly, this pentest offering is made more accessible to WiscNet members because of our collective purchasing power. The test helps you stay ahead of cyberthreats and potentially meet insurance requirements.
Digital Student Safety
Using natural language process algorithms, Securly flags students' social media and e-mail activity when there are indications someone is being bullied or at risk for suicide. The cloud-based web filter alerts school administrators as well as parents so that everyone can work together quickly and effectively in equal partnership, to keep students safe.
Web Security and Filtering
WiscNet Web Security and Filtering is a service in which we have partnered with Netsweeper to provide a web security solution that meets the "technology protection measure" requirement of the federal Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and provides the tools to configure filtering to meet a WiscNet member's unique needs.
More Services That Keep
You Connected
Mobile Beacon
Mobile Beacon is a 4G/5G internet service that offers three connectivity solutions for high usage, low/backup usage, and mobile access via hotspots and SIM cards. This affordable, flexible, easy-to-use internet service is available to WiscNet members for an exclusive price.
Operational Intelligence
WiscNet has partnered with schoolOS, a K-12 operational intelligence solution that creates a platform for school districts’ many disconnected tools, processes and procedures. Powered by agentic AI, schoolOS gives teachers, staff, students, and families one front door for support across daily systems.
Regional Datacenter
WiscNet collaborates with Chippewa Valley Technical College, offering shared data centers for co-location and expanded opportunities. Choose a full rack or shared space for disaster recovery, cloud services, and more. Additionally, WiscNet provides another data center in Madison.
BGP Multihome
The WiscNet BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) multi-home service is an option for members who have WiscNet Network Access and wish to enable BGP to WiscNet and other providers at the same time. Configurations to two or more providers enables failover and load balancing options for traffic to and from your public IP addresses.
WiscNet's Colocation service is for other state and/or regional networks that provide services on top of the network and want a direct presence at a major internet POP (Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, etc.) to reduce traffic on the broader/commodity internet.
Colocation
WiscNet enhances network performance with peering and caching. Peering with major companies, including Google, Netflix, and Microsoft, ensures faster and cost-effective service by keeping traffic within the WiscNet backbone.
Regional Internet Peering & Caching
Custom Private Network
With WiscNet's Custom Private Network service, member organizations can enhance class options through dedicated video connections, allocate bandwidth for secure data transfer, and plan for future possibilities.
TransitShare
This service provides cost-effective "commodity Internet" transit service to research and education institutions whose fiber optic network facilities can connect to WiscNet fiber optic network facilities or its transit providers' facilities in Chicago, IL.