U.K. Secondary School Making Student Wireless Access a Priority
Kings Norton High School in Birmingham, England, U.K., now offers wireless access to its students from anywhere on campus with the deployment of its new wireless network.
The Virtual Cell WLAN, manufactured by Meru Networks, upgrades the school's wireless access from stand-alone WiFi hot spots, throughout the facility, each transmitting over a different radio channel, to a single channel network architecture that allows a large number of users simultaneous high-speed access without concurrent interference.
One example of the benefits of the new system is allowing a full class of students to access, simultaneously, a streaming video online to accompany an in-class lesson. "The tests were exceptional," said Kings Norton network manager Douglas Bonnell, "with more than twenty wireless laptops in one room connecting to a single access point--all streaming video at the same time."
In information released by the school, Bonnell also noted the ease of installation, requiring two days for two engineers from education ICT specialists European Electronique to bring in the hardware and install a fully functioning system.
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Scott Aronowitz is a freelance writer based in Las Vegas. He has covered the technology, advertising, and entertainment sectors for seven years. He can be reached here.