Spend on Mobile and Wireless will rise within Education Authorities

Overall expenditure will be made up of sums for the buying in of handheld and portable wireless end-user devices, network hardware, systems software, and outsourced ICT services. Juniper´s wide-ranging research and industry interviews show that independent wireless networks capable of interoperation with 2G and 3G systems are central to the mobile future for education. Wi-Fi has been widely used since 2002 by major educational institutions for wireless broadband campus networks. The much greater range and higher data-transfer speeds of WiMAX / 802.16 are driving its emergence as a wide-area broadband infrastructure solution for educational networks. The report´s author, Dr Douglas Houston, writes, "802.16 technologies are set to have wide market impact over the next 5 years. Major operators worldwide including BT and AT&T have conducted WiMAX trials. Among their objectives has been the testing of 802.16 wireless networks´ effectiveness in extending existing services to remote locations without wired infrastructures. The standard´s ability to provide wireless broadband backbones is making it of considerable interest for government and education in developing countries." Mobile broadband connectivity brings major operational benefits to education. The report´s coverage of current activity, pilot trials, and research highlights the advantages of wireless broadband in terms of efficiency, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness.