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Keewatin-Patricia District School Board Embarks on Milestone Broadband Wireless Deployment with Redline Communications
North America�s largest educational wireless network delivers advanced learning tools to 7,000 students in 27 remote locations over a 27,000+ square mile area
TORONTO--September 29, 2004--Redline Communications, a leading provider of standards-based broadband wireless equipment, today announced that Keewatin-Patricia District School Board in northwestern Ontario has rolled out one of the largest and most ambitious broadband wireless deployments for education in Canada. Using Redline�s AN-50 broadband wireless solution for access and backhaul services, the school board can now provide the connectivity required to enable distance learning applications to its more than 7,000 students in remote locations over a 27,394 square mile (70,950 square kilometer) geographical area.
The network, which was deployed over a four-month period, includes multiple back-to-back links comprising up to seven segments in a row reaching distances of over 120 miles (200 kilometers). The average bandwidth rate achieved for the 22-link network is 48 Mbps. The previous maximum rate was
1 Mbps.
�Our decision to use Redline was driven by our overriding goal to increase bandwidth and performance,� said Del Schmucker, Information Systems Manager at Keewatin-Patricia District School Board. �Redline�s AN-50 offered the right combination of power, flexibility and low risk. In addition, the non-line-of-sight capabilities, speed of implementation, reach, low latency and costs, and customization features made it the ideal choice for a very challenging environment. With Redline we can meet bandwidth requirements today and have lots of room to grow. And, we managed to have it all up and running within 120 days of the project launch.�
By deploying a broadband network, Keewatin-Patricia enjoys an 85% increase in network capacity at no extra cost, while enhancing the ability to run data, distance learning, video conferencing, VoIP, student administration and human resources applications. All of these gains have been achieved across the wireless network with no quality difference over the legacy telco network. By way of comparison, average costs for traditional wireline technologies to support a network of this extent are in excess of one million dollars annually for bandwidth alone. The Redline solution represented a one-time capital cost of one million dollars, with operating costs dropping to $120,000 a year.
�This is a major accomplishment in distance learning,� said Keith Doucet, VP Marketing and Product Management at Redline Communications.
�Keewatin-Patricia is a project where Redline�s capabilities really shine.
They had a number of challenges to overcome, including extensive geographical coverage, line of sight issues and extremely harsh environmental conditions. In less than four months, it managed to transition from small, locally leased networks to a large centralized wireless network to provide students and staff with unprecedented access to information at a lower overall cost.�
Keewatin-Patricia School Board was recently recognized by The Learning Partnership�s 2004 Technology Innovation Award in the category of Ontario school boards for its broadband wireless implementation and innovative network design.
About Keewatin-Patricia District School Board The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is responsible for public education in northwestern Ontario. One of Canada�s largest school boards, Keewatin-Patricia encompasses the towns of Kenora, Keewatin, Sioux Narrows, Vermilion Bay, Eagle River, Oxdrift, Dryden, Ignace, Sioux Lookout, Hudson, Ear Falls and Red Lake. With more than 27,394 square miles (70,950 square
kilometers) of operating jurisdiction, Keewatin-Patricia School Board provides education to 7,000 students at 27 remote locations.
About Redline Communications
Redline Communications is a technology leader in the design and manufacture of standards-based broadband wireless access solutions. Using industry leading OFDM technologies, Redline�s award-winning products provide unmatched high capacity and non-line-of-sight capabilities with proven performance, reliability and security. Ideal for a variety of access, backhaul and private network applications, Redline products meet the needs of carriers, service providers and enterprises worldwide. Redline is a principal member of the WiMAX Forum�, and was first in the world to market an 802.16 compliant product. Redline has over 5,000 installations in 60 countries across 6 continents through a global distribution network of 80+ partners. For more information, visit www.redlinecommunications.com.
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