Broadband joins up London's classrooms
Consortium completes £40m project as part of overall UK commitment
A five-year project to bring high-speed internet access to London schools has been completed, going some way to fulfilling Prime Minister Tony Blair’s pledge to give all UK schools broadband by 2006.
All 2,500 schools in the capital now have broadband thanks to the £40m project, led by a consortium including the London Grid for Learning, the Department for Education and Skills and vendor Thus.
Brian Durrant, chief executive of London Grid for Learning, says the aim was to implement good quality broadband at minimum cost, using the aggregate buying power of consortium members.
Working out the topology of the infrastructure to deliver broadband to more than a million children and 65,000 teachers was a major challenge. Other problems included reaching a consensus in the planning stages and ensuring internet security.
Durrant says time invested in the planning stages was key. ‘It is more important to get it right than to get it quick,’ he said.
The project was completed on schedule and on budget.
The broadband infrastructure gives every child their own 100MB learning space, enables collaborative online discussions, and provides access to a library of digital resources and lectures via video conferencing.
Steve Hogger, connectivity manager at the Department for Education and Skills, says more than 90 per cent of UK schools have broadband and all will have full connectivity by 2006.
‘I’m confident that Prime Minister Blair’s pledge will be met,’ he said.
‘That’s not to say there isn’t work to be done, particularly in rural and hard-to-reach areas.’
In 2002 Blair promised every school, university, hospital and doctors’ surgery a high-speed internet connection.
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