Suffolk Schools benefit from new high speed network

March 15, 2012 - PRLog -- March 1st, 2012 - An £11million programme to link up schools, libraries and county council buildings across Suffolk with a single high speed network has been delivered by MLL Telecom and Customer Service Direct (CSD) and was completed in January 2012.

So far 219 schools and 48,815 children have been linked into the Next Generation Network (NGN) programme. A total of 318 schools have signed up including new academies and free schools across Suffolk.

Suffolk County Councillor Graham Newman, Portfolio Holder for Children, Schools and Young People’s Services, said: “When our children leave school they will be entering a business world where high speed networks are a basic requirement, not a luxury. So it’s important they are learning in an environment that replicates that and gives them every opportunity to be successful in later life”

The programme has been managed by, Customer Service Direct (CSD), a joint venture partnership between Suffolk County Council, Mid Suffolk District Council and BT.
CSD commissioned MLL Telecom to build a dedicated high speed fibre optic core network which initially connected about 700 sites using a range of the latest access technologies based on a fibre and copper solution provision. The network has been designed to allow shared use by any public sector organisation in Suffolk, whilst maintaining the privacy and security of traffic between the different users.

CSD Programme Manager, James Crane, said: “We are delighted to be delivering this new network for Suffolk's Schools and Council services. On-line technology allows children to learn in new ways that are tailored for the individual pupil. This network provides a safe environment for pupils to access the internet and share resources with each other.”

Customer Service Direct (CSD) is a joint venture between Suffolk County Council, Mid-Suffolk District Council and BT. It was set up in 2004 to transform and improve Services for Suffolk and manages ICT, HR, Finance and Customer Access for the two councils. Suffolk County Council commissioned CSD to develop the programme.

MLL Telecom – www.mlltelecom.com - specialises in providing fully managed networks to service providers, system integrators and the public sector using the optimum combination of fixed and wireless technologies. MLL Telecom is a licensed UK operator. The company delivers fully managed 24×7 network services and currently manages more than 5000 links nationwide. Customers and channel partners include BT, Vodafone, O2, Cable&Wireless Worldwide, Virgin Media Business, Azzurri, Argus Media, East Sussex County Council, Nottinghamshire Police, North Dorset District Council and Suffolk County Council.

NGN is delivering a step change in IT services for Suffolk schools:
Research used by the government shows a direct correlation between network access and pupil’s attainment

“… We've got evidence that shows that it is probably worth half a grade at GCSE difference, if you have access to (on-line) resources…” Neil McLean, Executive director of Becta

Schools across Suffolk are already consuming data at a rate equivalent to 40 books every second – the new network is providing an order of magnitude (x5) increase in capacity as the existing network is about to reach its limits

Based on average 300 page book being 0.5151 Mbytes (4MBits) – source Uniterium.Com

Limit based on congested schools link to the internet

Secure filtering that blocks inappropriate sites and content

Schools get to access the same shared resources as higher educational establishments such as Cambridge University

The network runs over super-high-speed fibre-optic connections to around 50 locations across Suffolk, which act as hubs to provide high-speed connections to schools, libraries and other public sector buildings over fibre-optic, copper and wireless technologies.

More information can be found online at http://www.mlltelecom.com

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