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Coppell ISD Upgrades to 802.11n Wireless
Coppell Independent School District in Texas has overhauled its network, upgrading to high-speed 802.11n WiFi. The move was part of an effort to support the district's 1:1 initiative with increased capacity while reducing costs.
For the deployment, Coppell ISD used 802.11n WiFi arrays from Xirrus, a wireless hardware manufacturer that focuses on K-12 education.
Chad Branum, executive director of technology for Coppell ISD, said the new wireless network replaced an initial implementation that failed to deliver in terms of capacity.
"A lot of our users over time had basically given up on our previous wireless infrastructure," he said in a statement released Wednesday. "Deploying Xirrus has allowed our faculty to realize that WiFi can be solid. Now they can really infuse mobility within their instruction, either within their classroom or anywhere within the facility--that has been the biggest mind shift from all of our staff members and students. We wanted them to have the same kind of environment within our regular data network infrastructure that they would on a wireless...."
Coppell Independent School District serves about 10,000 K-12 students in 14 schools, including two high schools, three middle schools, and nine elementary schools, as well as one learning annex.