Ethernet replacing teachers

Five-college network saves R500 000 annually

Motorola announced today that its point-to-point wireless Ethernet bridges are providing the communication infrastructure for an e-skills initiative launched by South Africa’s Department of Communications.

The wireless broadband network will connect the five campuses of the Ekurhuleni East College (ECC) in Gauteng in order to centralise operations and share resources to address the shortage of specialised lecturers.

Faced with expensive, low-capacity and unreliable leased line offerings, ECC chose Motorola’s PTP400 Series wireless broadband solution due to its ability to deliver long-range communication at a lower cost than alternative technologies.

All analogue telephones have been replaced with VoIP phones that allow the campuses to communicate with each other without having to pay for each call and to route external calls through a centralised call centre. This has resulted in cost savings of up to R500 000 annually.

“By connecting to the existing network, we will create an e-learning platform that provides these schools with access to science and maths teachers at EEC, thus addressing the lack of resources we face in the education sector,” noted Dennis Memela, Chief Director responsible for the ICT Skills Development Programme.

Future plans include the deployment of a meshed network that can support mobile broadband services, connecting local communities and driving the transformation to a digital society.