Mitchell Bingemann | August 20, 2008
AROUND 92 schools in Victoria will gain access to high-speed broadband as part of a $2 million state project.
NetStar has secured a $1.8 million contract to construct and maintain a communications network for Victorian schools.
The three-year contract was awarded by the Association of Independent Schools of Victoria (AISV) as part of its Victorian Independent Collaborative Technologies and Online Resources (VICTOR) project, which aims to provide a common IP network to enable communication and collaborative projects between regional schools.
NetStar has already begun construction of the network having rolled out it out to seven schools as part of an eight week pilot program. Once the trial is complete, construction will begin on the remaining 85 schools with an expected completion date set for May 2009.
The network will be built using Cisco’s 7600 series of high-end routers and switches, while internet access will be provided by Telstra.
NetStar marketing director, Oliver Descouedres, said the speed of the network would depend on each individual school’s geographical location.
He said most “regionally isolated” schools could expect minimum symmetrical speeds of 1.5Mbps, while those closer to metropolitan areas would have speeds of 4Mbps.
Schools in metropolitan areas would achieve speeds of 10Mbps.
Once complete the network will allow 30,000 and 40,000 students to access global online educational resources.
Schools that are connected to the network will also be able to access shared services such as caching, network intrusion prevention, virus and malware scans, and video on demand services, he said.
“Instead of each school going out about buying their own individual internet links we’re creating a centralised platform to provide internet access and shared services,” Mr Descouedres said.
NetStar will also roll out a billing system for the AISV that will be used to bill each school for the provided services.
The project’s funding is being supported by the federal Government’s Clever Networks program.