UQ deploys massive 802.11n network

The University's director of information technology services, Nick Tate, said it had deployed 4,000 Cisco Aironet 1520 and 1140 Series 802.11n wireless access points across its campuses.

Some of the more unusual locations include on the ‘City Cat' ferry in Brisbane, the university's working mine site at Indooroopilly, the marine research centre on Heron Island, 80 kilometres off the coast of Queensland, and the agricultural and veterinary science campus located in Gatton, also situated 80 kilometres away from the main campus at St Lucia.

"Students will no longer be tied to lecture rooms or libraries, allowing them to access and download classes, recorded lecture materials and other resources from laptops, iPhones or other smartphones, wherever and whenever is convenient for them," Tate said.

The network, coupled with mobility and video technologies will eliminate physical barriers and encourage flexibility on campus, according to Tate.

"This significant network upgrade will help the University of Queensland enable our vision of a connected campus environment, filled with mobile students and teachers communicating and collaborating at anytime from wherever they happen to be," he said.

The implementation also includes the largest Cisco TelePresence network for education in the Asia Pacific region.

The "ultra-high definition video implementation" includes four Cisco TelePresence System 500 units and two Cisco TelePresence System 3200 units - the first deployment of its kind for education and learning in Australia and New Zealand.

The 500 unit seats two participants for virtual face-to-face meetings, and the 3200 model can cater for up to 18 participants in the room.