News

Meru goes back to School

M2M & IoT
Meru Networks has announced that public school Bradfield College has completed the first phase of its deployment of Meru Education-grade 802.11ac wireless technology throughout the school’s extensive site in Berkshire. The network will support up to 3,000 staff and student devices.

According to Meru Bradfield selected Meru’s Gigabit Wi-Fi when its existing Aruba network failed to deliver seamless coverage across the school’s mix of traditional and modern facilities and was unable to deliver sufficient capacity to meet the demands of more than 1,000 pupils, staff and contractors, which interrupted learning.

“Our previous Wi-Fi network caused some frustration with coverage dropping in and out depending on where you were in the school, and was particularly problematic in some of our older buildings, which date back over 150 years and have solid walls,” explains Trevor Benstock, Director of IT Services, Bradfield College. “The number of devices connecting to the network was also causing us headaches, with staff and pupils using up to three devices each, often simultaneously. That’s potentially thousands of devices all logging on at once.”

“While Bradfield College is a traditional school with a long history and extremely impressive academic and sporting record, its ethos and teaching embraces the latest technology, from mobile learning to online portals. Unfortunately, its Wi-Fi was not fit for purpose and causing frustrations for staff, pupils and visitors,” adds Mark Howell, country manager for UK and Ireland at Meru. “There are still many educational establishments out there suffering unnecessary Wi-Fi problems due to outdated technology, so we’re delighted to be adding another school to our list of 4,000 in the UK and Ireland.”