From remote learning to more efficient workflows for educators, educational equity is now heavily dependent on digital connectivity. Students need digital learning resources and tools, whether they’re in a metropolitan-based school or in a regional community.
That was the challenge for both CEWA and BCE, whose school locations range from metro areas to some of the most remote communities in Australia.
“We have 158 schools within CEWA,” says Tony Panetta, Head of Digital Transformation Partnerships at Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA). “It was difficult to deliver equity of access to students.”
To find a fast yet robust solution, CEWA and BCE engaged secure networks managed service provider (MSP) Orro. Orro’s Chief Technology Officer - Networks, Michael van Rooyen, says the challenges faced by both CEWA and BCE – as well as their solutions – are showing up in industries beyond education.
A focus on better connectivity
Though connectivity was an important foundation for digital transformation projects across the organisation, the primary focus was delivering faster and more reliable connections for students and educators.
“Poor connections impact today’s digital lessons,” says Leigh Williams, CIO of Brisbane Catholic Education (BCE), which operates a system of over 140 schools throughout South East Queensland. “No one wants students sitting in classrooms and then all of a sudden the internet goes down.”
“We’re seeing equitable access issues across many industries – airlines, retail and so on,” says van Rooyen. “The question is how do we provide the same consistent experience that people are used to at home, right across the entire environment?”
However, Panetta says the prospect of students missing out on critical digital resources gave the project extra urgency, explaining that they approached it as a “fail-forward exercise.”
Achieving flexibility with SD-WAN and FTTP
The dispersed and varied networks of CEWA and BCE meant the project was more complex than switching on a single connection.
“The eventual architect design needed solutions that provided flexible carriage choices, while also providing bandwidth and security at the network edge,” says van Rooyen.
That’s why CEWA and BCE worked with business nbn through service provider Orro to replace legacy solutions with a software-defined wide-area network (SD-WAN). Both organisations opted for Enterprise Ethernet† as well as Fibre to the Premises (FTTP).
With SD-WAN solutions, networks can be centrally controlled and use multiple connection types, including public internet and private services. Additionally, SD-WAN can be overlaid on existing networks, enabling infrastructure migrations to happen more gradually and with fewer disruptions to day-to-day operations.
Along with its role as MSP, Orro is also a retail service provider (RSP). This meant they were able to work closely with various other RSPs and select the providers that suited different needs across school locations.
Boosting digital capabilities and future skills
The result?
“We were able to build an architecture that was equitable,” says Panetta.
Both Panetta and Williams say the project over-delivered on benefits*. It provides direct access to the cloud for students but also helps deliver business-critical functions like direct safety services.
As an example, BCE created its own metric of megabits per second per student to measure network capacity. “We had come from about 0.3Mbps [per student],” says Williams. ”Our goal was 1Mbps per student, and we’ve been hitting about 1.7 – nearly a five-fold increase to what we previously delivered. It’s amazing to go out to a school and know there’s reliable, consistent, fast connectivity.”*
Williams says they’re hearing positive feedback from educators who are relieved to have reliable access, but they’re also exploring new learning methods enabled by augmented reality or e-gaming.
“That, to me, has been the biggest winner. When you look at where the future is heading in terms of digital transformation, we’ve got to prepare students for that.”
business nbn Enterprise Ethernet is only available in the business nbn fibre zones, nbn Fixed Line network footprint and at limited premises served by the nbn Fixed Wireless and Satellite networks.
*nbn is very happy with CNA’s experience with the nbn broadband access network. Of course, end customer experiences, including the speeds actually achieved over the nbn network, may vary depending on factors such as their nbn access technology, internet provider, plan and equipment.
