Optical LAN network solution enables teachers to tailor learning tools, while lowering TCO by nearly 80 percent
Santa Fe Public Schools (SFPS) has partnered with Tellabs, a provider of passive optical network (PON) solutions, to deploy the company’s fiber-based Optical LAN network solution in seven additional district schools, bringing the number of schools that benefit from Optical LAN to eight.
By switching to fiber from the traditional copper option, students and teachers benefit from high-speed internet and the flexibility they need to take full advantage of digital learning technologies.
At each school, Tellabs Optical LAN converges voice/VoIP, data, video, Wi-Fi, security, and other services onto a single fiber and centralizes all network management functions. This gives teaching staff the flexibility to tailor the classroom and learning tools to evolving student needs and provides students with high-speed access to digital learning tools, including e-learning apps, Wi-Fi and cloud-based networking, via their desktop computers, laptops and smartphones.
Next page: How a fiber network increases IT staff flexibility
The flexibility of the Tellabs Optical LAN infrastructure also enables the IT staff to react to individual needs of each school. The technology is easy to use, and does not require any additional outsourced IT resources. Because fiber offers nearly unlimited speed and capacity, this infrastructure can easily meet the evolving connectivity needs in the future, making it a more scalable option as well.
All of these benefits translate to significant cost savings that schools can use elsewhere. In one school alone, Optical LAN cost $60,000 less than the copper-based solution. SFPS realized cost savings in square footage as well by eliminating the need for seven communications closets, which would have otherwise been required. This enabled the district to instead build out a new classroom. Over a 10-year period, SFPS expects to save almost $2.1 million at one school alone, resulting in 80 percent lower total costs of ownership (TCO).
“With Tellabs Optical LAN, we built a network infrastructure that has it all – it’s simple, flexible, sustainable and cost effective,” said Elias Bernardino, executive director of the SFPS technology department. “Tellabs Optical LAN enabled us to leverage existing IT resources and reduce costs, and then apply those savings to investments in other areas of education.”
“As the demand for higher internet speeds and overall better digital learning experience rises, Tellabs answers with Optical LAN,” said Charlie Stone, vice president of North American sales at Tellabs. “Our innovative solution is simple, flexible, and scalable. It gives students fast access to school resources over a future-proof fiber-based infrastructure and schools the confidence in knowing that they are deploying an established technology, which improves the overall educational experience.”
Material from a press release was used in this report.
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