Exeter University has signed a multimillion-pound network upgrade deal as part of its plan to become a top 10 university.

Currently ranked 13th among UK higher education (HE) institutions, Exeter plans to cut its carbon footprint and improve services to students by combining wireless communications and telephony into one campus-wide network.

Students will benefit from modern learning tools and networking facilities such as blogging, SMS and Facebook.

IT services supplier Data Integration was chosen for its ability to deliver dual benefits, said Roger Snelling, head of networks at Exeter.

“Understanding how the supplier would work with us to help us become a top 10 HE institution and how the proposed solution would help the university reduce its carbon footprint were key criteria in our evaluation," he said.