The maximum capacity and availability of WiFi is a key factor in the new educational models defined by mobility and the use of multiple devices per user: laptops, tablets, game consoles, printers, smartwatches, etc.
The new challenges of wireless connectivity in Universities and Educational Centers were the focus of the conference organized by Air-Fi, a specialist in High Capacity WiFi networks, and Cambium Networks, held last week in Barcelona and attended by CIOs and educators from the main educational institutions in Catalonia.
According to the organizers, maximum capacity and availability of WiFi is a key factor in the new educational models defined by mobility and the use of multiple devices per user: laptops, tablets, game consoles, printers, smartwatches, etc. This process has tripled the number of wireless devices on campuses, and it requires universities and educational centers to support this growth.
WiFi, a factor of attraction
Furthermore, educational institutions want quality WiFi to attract new students. Teachers use wireless connectivity intensively to share new digital content (video, presentations), and students demand it because for their generation, it is already a fundamental utility.
Flexible, reliable, and powerful WiFi
For the participants in the conference, WiFi in the classrooms is no longer an aspiration; it is a necessity, as important as textbooks and notebooks. Flexible, reliable, and powerful WiFi to accommodate the growing need based on student initiatives and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies. In addition to meeting current growth needs, networks must be able to adapt to new standards that emerge every few years and provide responses to needs for the next 5-10 years.
Educational transformation
Pedagogical methods and the rethinking of educational spaces aimed at replacing “being able to do” with “knowing how to do” are other variables where connectivity is key. Classrooms that allow for multiple configurations: attending, presenting, collaborating, concentrating, studying, etc. In parallel, common spaces – welcoming areas, hallways, cafeteria, library, outdoor areas – are transformed into learning and teamwork areas, which, apart from being environments where many users gather, require the best connectivity.
Cambium Networks’ cloud-managed WiFi
In this scenario, Cambium Networks offers a unique and scalable wireless solution that can be properly sized to meet growing connectivity needs. From small classrooms to high-density spaces (such as auditoriums and libraries), Cambium Networks offers a scalable portfolio of solutions while significantly reducing the amount of required equipment.
Thousands of schools around the world have chosen Cambium Networks to help them build a WiFi network that does not have to be replaced every 5 years (or less). Their wireless solutions are modular, fully upgradable, with programmable hardware that can grow and adapt as your network does, and allow for a lifespan of up to 10 years.
For Cambium, wireless is a strategic competitive advantage that accelerates learning and allows educational institutions to offer more than ever before, bringing new solutions to the classrooms to share content and improve the learning process. And doing so by reducing infrastructure and deployment costs, achieving four times higher capacity. Cambium Networks’ solutions are not an evolution of cables; they were developed entirely with a focus on wireless growth. Their advantages include lower equipment density, high user density, visibility and control of applications, and the ability to scale with demand.
The keys to Cambium Networks for university environments include providing support for critical applications such as Moodle, Blackboard, Learning Management Systems to ensure that the teaching progress is not interrupted; faster and easier deployment with less equipment and support infrastructure; accelerating and simplifying the onboarding of new students with changing devices and full access control; hardware scalable to new WiFi6 and WiFi6E technologies without requiring replacement of any equipment; and zero-touch provisioning and automatic online activation model.