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Affordably Link a District of Schools
Affordably Link a District of Schools
The Challenge
Both urban and rural school districts benefit from sharing educational resources and school operational systems. Applications such as student databases, email, and records often reside only on a local PC hard drive. Attempting to connect disparate schools through dial-up or DSL doesn’t offer the bandwidth for database applications, or the accessibility and ease-of-use required for actual use. Leased lines would address these issues, but would add unreasonable cost – and may not be available in many locations. The cost of trenching fiber can run into the millions.
The Solution
Wireless metropolitan area networks are a perfect solution for linking many schools in a region. Because wireless systems can be installed simply and affordably relative to fiber optics, a service provider could afford to offer an inexpensive MAN to school districts at a monthly fee. Or, the school district could opt to own the infrastructure itself. Either way, wireless provides a viable solution for improving communications and sharing resources between many schools.
As an added benefit, the district could offer low or no-cost Internet access to households in the immediate vicinity to the schools. Using an inexpensive multipoint network or standard Wi-Fi technology, broadband access can be fanned out from the school.
The Products
