Western Australia promises more bandwidth for schools

Western Australia’s schools will get another connectivity upgrade, with 500 in line for better connectivity.

The upgrades will be delivered under a one-year extension to the Department of Education’s Telstra contract, with work to commence by July 2023.

There is to be no additional cost to the department, the minister said.

The minister’s announcement doesn’t say what capacity is currently in place, but claims the work will result in a “60 percent overall increase in bandwidth where Telstra has additional capacity in their network”.

Some schools will get “boosts of up to 150 percent”.

Western Australian schools have been promised several bandwidth upgrades over the years.

In 2019, then minister Sue Ellery announced a trial that promised 20Mbps per school, with 18 schools named to pilot the upgrades.

In December 2020, the government announced a $130 million upgrade plan to deliver 2Mbps on a per-user basis, beginning in 2021.

iTnews has asked Telstra and the Western Australian Department of Education for information regarding the current service levels.