The new service includes the delivery of pervasive Wi-Fi throughout their student halls of residence. This added a further 2,290 rooms to the StudentCom portfolio.
Prior to signing the contract with StudentCom, the University of Greenwich operated their own ResNet. One of the main attractions for switching to a managed service from a dedicated provider such as StudentCom was their in-house fully trained Service Desk providing round the clock support to students, 365 days a year. According to Bill Franciscy, Head of Residential Services at the University: “This dedicated support to students was absolutely crucial, and something which alone we could not provide”.
StudentCom has installed the very latest technology into the University, including the new 802.11ac Access Points, which allow higher throughput resulting in a faster and more reliable service. By utilising this cutting edge wireless technology the university have put themselves well ahead of the curve, whilst also future proofing against the ever increasing technology demands of students, another aspect which was very important to the University.
Students staying at halls of residence are offered a 30mb base service, and can now enjoy Wi-Fi throughout their accommodation, allowing them to stay connected whether they are in their rooms or in communal areas, something which couldn’t be offered through the ResNet service. According to Bill: ‘Student expectations have grown considerably over the past few years, and it was clear both anecdotally and from Student Satisfaction Surveys that there was a strong demand for WiFi within university residences”. Today’s typical students can often have many as five wireless devices each, so having a reliable and high speed WiFi service is essential.
Since the service went live last September, the University has reported that students have been extremely happy with the service and response resolution times have been impressive. “StudentCom have done a great job of meeting expectations and described the service as delivering value for money to the university.”