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UK university deploys Wi-Fi network |
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Thursday, 13 March 2008 |
Foundry Networks has announced that the
University of
Birmingham is installing its IronPoint Mobility Series of access points (APs) and controllers in a major replacement and expansion programme to provide complete Wi-Fi coverage by the end of 2008 at its main 250 hectare Edgbaston campus, the 80 hectare Selly Oak campus and at the affiliated Shakespeare Institute in
Stratford-upon-Avon. This makes the project one of the largest deployments of Wi-Fi within a
UK university to date. Often dubbed the
Venice of the North, given the miles of canals,
Birmingham is home to one of the biggest and most prestigious Universities in the
UK with around 30,000 students, 6,000 staff and an income exceeding £354 million. In a phased approach first beginning three years ago, the university initially installed Foundry IronPoint access points in select student congregation areas such as main lecture theatres, libraries, coffee areas, some class rooms and certain open air spaces. To deliver this in a secure and easy to manage way, over 300 IronPoint Mobility access points and two Foundry Mobility Controllers have been implemented with the university taking full advantage of the virtual cell technology capabilities included. This means that the various access points in one geographical area all use one channel, thereby allowing IT staff to engineer out any frequency issues associated with other competing Wi-Fi enabled devices such as Wi-Fi alarm systems. The project is being delivered by Foundry partner, Pervasive Networks.
www.foundrynet.com |
