Exeter Uni gives £5.5m network upgrade the green light

IPTV and super-fast networking for students

The University of Exeter has finished the test-stage of a £5.5m network upgrade project slated for implementation this December.

The test was outsourced to Spirent Communications and was used to determine whether the preferred supplier hardware was fit to deliver 200 channels of IPTV and 1Gbps networking to the desktop across the university's campus.

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The network will be used to deliver course teaching materials and share computing power across the Dante and Janet research networks.

In a statement, University of Exeter head of networks Roger Snelling said: "As a highly respected public body, it is imperative that we are transparent and fair in the selection process while getting the best return on investment. [The testing process] enabled us to do this and completed the work within five weeks."

The university's St Luke's campus will be upgraded by December and a wireless network and IP phones will be used to further test the project before implementation starts on the main university campus.