British schools have a new incentive to embrace voice-over-IP (VoIP): They’re being offered managed VoIP services for their school at a fraction of the normal cost.
The Public Services Network (PSN) project developed by London Grid for Learning (LGfL) and Virgin Media (News - Alert) Business has just announced that it will be offering Wi-Fi services and VoIP to the roughly 2,000 British schools that it has helped roll out fiber optic networks.
The PSN was launched in 2011 to provide a secure, super-fast infrastructure and shared framework over which other public sector organizations could procure new technology services.
The first step was rolling out a fiber optic network to the 2,000 schools, making 100 Mbps bandwidth available to over a million students in the capital. The next step is now offering Wi-Fi and VoIP over the same core network.
With the new VoIP push, schools now can simply purchase the required number of wireless access points needed and share the centrally managed and hosted VoIP service that PSN offers. This allows them to run a managed VoIP service at a cost far less than if they bought it themselves from a provider.
“Technology is radically changing the way we live and work, and increasingly empowers the way that teachers teach and children learn,” said Brian Durrant, chief executive of the London Grid for Learning Trust, in a TechWorld article.
He added: “London schools are already leading the way as a blueprint for technology in education for the UK and beyond; and the addition of Wi-Fi and VoIP to LGfL services for schools will further support that lead.”
The use of VoIP will give schools reduced calling and free calls to other schools in the system, according to the article. It will also enable schools to take advantage of new e-learning tools like tablets, interactive whiteboards and educational podcasts.
How this offering will affect the VoIP industry is not yet known, but the program could facilitate copycat projects if the London project is a resounding success.
Such projects both would cut down on provider’s ability to service education clients, and also give a few big players who win school contracts a big win.
“Sharing services isn’t just about reducing costs and improving services, but allowing different departments and organizations to use technology to work together, more effectively,” summarized Durrant.
So surely more such projects are on the way.
Edited by Ashley Caputo