City University is speeding up its connectivity with ntl:Telewest Business in order to keep pace with the 35 per cent increase in e-learning it has seen over the past year.
The university will now replace its Wide Area Network (WAN) with a flexible, single-vendor system to support the service.
Director of IT Operations and Infrastructure at City University Carl Stokes said that the deal with ntl:Telewest Business fulfilled the university's connectivity requirements. "City University London is at the forefront of e-learning and over the last calendar year we've seen a 35 per cent increase in its use. In order to support this service and deploy further innovative technologies, we required sufficient resilient bandwidth over which to run applications," said Stokes.
The communications supplier will now connect 15,000 students, as well as 2,500 staff, with a high-speed network across 11 of the university's sites for an undisclosed sum.
The new network will facilitate e-learning technologies, such as WebCT (Course Tools) - which is an online propriety virtual learning environment system - as well as podcasts of lectures and virtual learning environments.
The new system will also be able to provide remote access from halls of residence and other sites to central resources. This means that lectures, live events and video and audio learning content can be streamed over the network by staff and students.
