Universities Select Airband's Fixed Wireless Data to Support Booming Demand for High-speed Internet Access

Wireless News
05-17-2011
Universities Select Airband's Fixed Wireless Data to Support Booming Demand for High-speed Internet Access
Type: News

To stay ahead of increasing Internet-usage demands, Mount St. Mary's University and Stevenson University are two of the higher education institutions using Airband Communications' fixed-wireless data services to ensure their campuses have reliable and high- performing bandwidth.

Mount St. Mary's University, home to 1,500 students and located an hour from Baltimore and Washington, in the foothills of the Catoctin Mountains in Emmitsburg, Md., chose Airband as its Internet provider because it needed additional high-speed Internet access to support both students' and faculty's increasing Internet usage. By using Airband's fixed-wireless data services, Mount St. Mary's avoids expensive local-loop fees because data is transmitted directly to its campus via Airband's last-mile fixed-wireless network.
"With the majority of our students living on campus, it's vital that we have the bandwidth to support students' Internet needs for their personal use, including Netflix, Hulu and their gaming systems, because we want them to have the same resources here as they do at home," said Bobby Flack, chief information officer at Mount St. Mary's University. "With Airband, students have full availability to high-speed Internet, 24 hours a day and seven days a week because our network can scale on-demand to meet usage needs, without having to run packet-shaping devices or restricting access of any applications."

Airband provides high-capacity Internet access on its fixed- wireless network to meet Mount St. Mary's student life and academic online needs, including the use of hosted applications. Flack said that universities are increasingly leveraging hosted applications, such as email and course management systems, to enhance student and faculty services with added features and functionality. Mount St. Mary's has a second campus in Frederick, Md., and Airband provides a point-to-point high-bandwidth wireless circuit that interconnects the two campus locations so the Frederick campus can connect to the university's VoIP system and trusted applications without a VPN arrangement.

"As a smaller university, we need the same bandwidth as larger schools to use the same best-of-breed hosted applications, and Airband allows us to do that in a cost-effective manner. Airband has proven a trusted partner in providing reliable, high-speed Internet access as well as great customer service," said Flack.

Like Mount St. Mary's University, Stevenson University chose Airband's fixed-wireless data services when it needed additional bandwidth to stay ahead of the growing Internet demand on campus. Located near Baltimore in Stevenson, Md., the university is using Airband's high-speed Internet to support classroom needs, students' entertainment activities and online classes.

"Whether it's a professor using a streaming video in their lecture or teaching an online class reaching students all across the world, the Internet is integral to the delivery of education. We chose Airband's fixed-wireless Internet access because it can rapidly deliver the additional bandwidth we need in a cost- effective way," said Thomas Allen, chief information officer at Stevenson University. "Even during snow storms, rain or heavy fog, Airband has provided us with the reliable, high-performance bandwidth we need for us to best serve our students and faculty."

Universities like Mount St. Mary's and Stevenson benefit from Airband's fixed-wireless Internet access because it is an alternative to wireline options. Airband delivers high-bandwidth Internet access via its fixed wireless network, which bypasses the local phone and cable infrastructure, meaning universities don't have to pay the additional cost of the local loop.

Airband serves 17 markets across the U.S. including Atlanta; Austin; Baltimore; Dallas; Des Moines; Fort Lauderdale; Fort Worth; Houston; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Miami; Orange County, Calif.; Philadelphia; Phoenix; San Antonio; San Diego and Washington, D.C.

Airband Communications is a fixed-wireless voice and data provider for businesses in the U.S. .

More Information:

www.airband.com

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