EMMAN teams up with ntl:Telewest Business to provide students
with 21st Century education
- Regional network upgrade results in innovative learning
across the East Midlands
- Access to network enables research collaboration and
cutting-edge technology for staff and students
ntl:Telewest Business,
the supplier of communications services to the public and private
sectors, has today announced that it has completed a significant
network upgrade for the East
Midlands Metropolitan Area Network (EMMAN Ltd), a high
bandwidth Regional Data Network.
The upgrade will enable 50 Higher and Further Education
Institutions and specialist colleges to connect to SuperJANET5, the
latest incarnation of the Joint
Academic Network (JANET) provided by JANET(UK) on behalf of the
Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC). Access to
SuperJANET5 will support
innovative and cost-effective ways of teaching, researching and
learning across the region.
Formed as a limited company in 2002 by eight
universities, EMMAN's primary
objective is to deliver and manage high speed connectivity for
academic institutions across the region, ensuring that members have
access to the Internet and the SuperJANET network.
As a result of the upgrade, East Midlands’
students, staff and researchers will benefit from a network backbone that provides access to the best
teaching, learning and research content online. It will also
facilitate new opportunities for e-learning, such as multimedia
streaming, video conferencing and online preparation of course
materials, as well as digital access to buildings.
“By providing our member institutions with a
high speed, flexible and scalable network at competitive prices,
ntl:Telewest Business has ensured that
600,000 students, staff and researchers can utilise IT on a daily
basis,” said Ian Griffiths, Executive Director, EMMAN Limited . “I wholly believe
that education establishments could not exist without the network
and, with the ability to transport 40GBs of traffic, JANET is one of the leading education
networks in the world.”
Since EMMAN’s formation, ntl:Telewest Business
has worked in close partnership with the company, supplying a high
speed regional network infrastructure that ensures universities and
colleges have the opportunity to enhance staff and students’
educational experiences by employing innovative technologies.
Looking ahead, EMMAN wishes to increase network speeds
to more remote areas and develop communications within the region
to encompass hospitals, libraries, schools, local authorities,
small business enterprises and lifelong learning organisations.
“EMMAN is the perfect example of how a high
speed, resilient network can enable academic institutions to
deliver next generation education resources and collaborate with
institutions both across the region and globally,” said John
Cunningham, Director of Sales, ntl:Telewest Business.
“Students are becoming increasingly tech-savvy and it is important
that we capture their imaginations and inspire learning by using
up-to-date channels of communications, such as video streaming,” he
added.
The eight universities that make up EMMAN are De Montfort University,
University of Derby, University of Leicester, University of
Lincoln, Loughborough University, University of Northampton,
University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University.
About ntl:Telewest Business
ntl:Telewest Business, part of the UK’s second
largest fixed-line telecommunications company, is a leading
communications provider to businesses, public sector organisations
and service providers in the UK. It delivers a complete portfolio
of voice, data and internet solutions nation-wide.
ntl:Telewest Business sales and support
teams are located across the UK, in close proximity to our
customers, as part of a commitment to deliver superior customer
service.
ntl:Telewest Business delivers services over
the Group’s £13bn investment in its state-of-the-art
infrastructure giving business customers access to the largest
alternative network in the UK.
ntl:Telewest Business is trusted to provide
critical communications to high profile customers
including: Heathrow's Terminal 5, Birmingham City Council and
Cambridgeshire County Council.