Indiana District Rolls Out 802.11n WiFi

• By Chris Riedel
• 12/04/08

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Danville Community School Corp. in Indiana is deploying 802.11n wireless technology across its campuses. The district signed on with Meru Networks to provide the technology for the deployment, which will begin in early 2009.

The implementation will start with the district's new middle school and will expand to its elementary schools, high school, and alternative education center as funds become available. According to the announcement, the new network will be used for online class activities, remote records access, and wireless test administration, among other things. The district also plans to provide visitors with wireless "guest" Internet access.

"Historically, we were very cautious about using wireless for anything bandwidth-intensive or mission-critical," said Brad Fischer, director of technology for Danville Community School Corporation, in a prepared statement. "A minimal network disruption in the middle of a school assessment has the potential to affect the performance of hundreds of students. With Meru's technology and 11n's performance and reliability, I'm confident in using the wireless network not just as an adjunct to my wired network, but as the primary network for high-stakes activities such as student testing."

The new deployment will be centrally managed, replacing the district's current system of autonomous wireless access points. When complete, the WLAN will support approximately 3,000 students, faculty, and staff.