East Sussex County Council has awardedBTa multi-million pound contract to
provide a next generationbroadband networkfor 174 primary
schools.
Working in partnership with MLL Telecom, BT will provide a
managed radio wave network under the council's
Next
Generation Network (NGN) programme.
The NGN project - which also incorporates all main council
offices - will deliver faster connections by using a combination of
fibre and radio antennae-based services, linking the schools to the
new network via a high-speed, secure, private connection.
The new network will help schools meet national technology
standards and provide the capacity for future developments in
e-learning, learning platforms and educational ICT systems
across the county, such as the potential for
voice over IP (VoIP) and
video conferencing.
Providing the connection speeds required through the NGN project
is the most cost effective solution, as speeds and bandwidth can be
increased as and when required, including the option to extend the
service to an additional 130 council sites.
The point-to-point wireless connectivity will be supplied by MLL
Telecom. MLL's technology provides low powered, narrow beam
connections between roof-mounted antennas.
It does not provide "blanket" coverage such as mobile phone or
media broadcast networks - helping to allay fears that wireless
networks can cause health problems.
Councillor Bob Tidy, cabinet member for e-Government at East
Sussex, said, "This project will provide schools with a better
broadband network at exactly the same cost. They will have vastly
improved e-learning capacity without having a big slice taken off
their school budgets. It will also deliver a secure network that
will block unsuitable websites getting through to schools."