[March 12, 2008] University of Birmingham selects Foundry Networks' IronPoint Mobility to deliver campus-wide Wi-Fi Tweet (Telecomworldwire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Foundry Networks Inc (NASDAQ: FDRY), a provider of enterprise and service provider switching, routing, security and web traffic management solutions, announced on Tuesday (11 March) that the University of Birmingham, UK is installing its IronPoint Mobility Series of access points (APs) and controllers in to provide campus-wide Wi-Fi. The replacement and expansion programme, scheduled to be completed by the end of 2008, reportedly covers the university's main 250 hectare Edgbaston campus, the 80 hectare Selly Oak campus and at the affiliated Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon. In a phased approach, which began three years ago, the university at first installed Foundry IronPoint access points in select student congregation areas such as main lecture theatres, libraries, coffee areas, some class rooms and certain open air spaces. According to the company, the university implemented over 300 IronPoint Mobility access points and two Foundry Mobility Controllers, using the virtual cell technology capabilities. This means that the various access points in one geographical area all use one channel, allowing IT staff to engineer out any frequency issues associated with other competing Wi-Fi enabled devices. In addition, users need to connect to one university AP and do not have to make any roaming decisions as they move about the campus. The university has reportedly set up three SSIDs on the physical equipment: "UOBWLAN" for staff and students accessing the main Wi-Fi network; "eduroam" for people who are part of the JANET Roaming Service; and "UOBGuest," a web redirection service for visitors who are not members of JANET or the university but require Internet access. The project is being delivered by Foundry partner, Pervasive Networks. No financial details were disclosed. ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) Copyright ? 2008 M2 Communications Ltd. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]