Calgary Begins 802.11n WiFi Deployment to 217 Schools

• By David Nagel
• 08/13/09

The Calgary Board of Education has begun deploying 802.11n wireless services across its massive 217 campuses and educational centers. The move is being made in an effort to support new electronic learning initiatives launching this year.

The deployment will use equipment and software provided by Aruba Networks.

"The new networks are being overlaid on top of existing Aruba 802.11a/b/g networks that have been our wireless workhorses for the past three years," said Cindy Seibel, director of information technology services for CBE, in a prepared statement. "802.11n technology delivers significantly higher throughput with wire-like stability across larger numbers of laptops and other client devices. These benefits pave the way for CBE to aggressively launch high bandwidth electronic learning and video applications starting this year."

According to information released by Aruba, the 802.11n deployment will involve more than 2,700 access points (AP-125 802.11n Access Points), 200 controllers (3000-Series Multi-Service Mobility Controllers), and the AirWave Wireless Management Suite for central management. Bell Canada, an Aruba partner, is supplying the technology. It's expected to be completed next year.

The Calgary Board of Education serves about 102,000 students in 217 schools, centers, and programs, including 128 elementary schools, 22 combination elementary and middle schools, 27 middle schools, four combination middle and high schools, and 18 high schools, as well as 18 other programs. It has an annual operating budget of CDN$942.8 million.