Schools’ WiFi has come a long way since we completed our first installation about 15 years ago. Back then, the network was primarily used for teacher access, speeds were 11Mb at best and iPad’s were just a twinkle in Steve Jobs’ eye. Speeds have now climbed to the point where we can now guarantee 200Mb and up to 400Mb+ across your school network, broadband can go up to 200Mb and the number of wireless devices has rocketed.

The problem we face is that we have a huge stock of old, slow and patchy WiFi networks that have been patched and extended over time and in the main, are not truly fit for purpose. This is largely due to the fact that to deploy a new WiFi network and take advantage of all the benefits, you need to trash your existing network which is probably still working. A new WiFi network comes at a fairly hefty cost. They are now based on multiple smaller Wireless Access Points (WAPs) as opposed to the larger concentrated WAPs of old. Some schools may only have 4 WAPs now, but a new modern specified network would need about 9 WAPs.

The final gotcha’ is that faced with quite a large cost, you cannot realistically lease a WiFi network. Lease companies have tightened up on the percentage of non-hardware elements of a lease, and a WiFi network will always exceed this.

Faced with this Catch 22 and the need to provide a robust, fast infrastructure, we’re now announcing Complete School Networking (CSN). CSN is the provision of a brand new replacement WiFi network for schools, combined with upgraded 200Mb broadband. This will provide for a 200Mb end to end access to the internet; more than double of what you can currently receive. CSN also includes centrally monitored and maintained WiFi with included parts and labour warranty over the duration of the contract.

By bundling WiFi and Broadband into a single CSN package we can then spread the cost over 3 or 5 years. If you’d like a free, no obligation WiFi survey to identify how well (or not) your current network is operating, contact OmniCom today on (0191) 386 6222 or Request a Quotation.