High-density capabilities of Meru wireless network ensure success of first mobile launch

ENGLAND, UK: Meru Networks has announced that Blackburn-based Pleckgate High School is supporting the deployment of 1,200 iPad minis distributed to pupils in the school in one day with a Meru Education-grade (MEG) wireless solution.

The mobile launch - a first for the school - coincided with the first day of the new Autumn term, and was chosen in favour of a phased rollout due to the Meru solution's proven high-density handling capabilities.

"At my previous school, we rolled out iPod touches, but found that the Cisco wireless network was simply unable to cope with a high number of devices connecting at the same time. We switched to Meru with great success," said Lewis Hall, e-learning manager at Pleckgate High School.
"When I moved to Pleckgate, we expanded the existing Meru network, which has been able to cope with everything we threw at it and more. People said we were crazy to deploy 1,200 devices in one day, but, using Meru, it went even better then we imagined."

One of the government's Building Schools for the Future (BSF) successes, Pleckgate became one of the first schools to trial a free iPad mini programme last year. Such a large-scale mobile device ‘switch on' was deemed a worthwhile risk, with Pleckgate having already deployed Meru's Wi-Fi technology throughout the school and with management's prior experience with Meru's ability to support high numbers of users and devices simultaneously.

Each member of the Pleckgate staff also has an iPad mini or an iPad2, as well as a MacBook Air, while every classroom and learning space is equipped with Apple TVs, with use enabled by the Meru Bonjour Gateway - all deployed within the space of the last 12 months. The school will eventually move to an all-mobile environment, phasing out desktops PCs and laptops in classrooms to improve student-teacher interaction and accelerate independent learning.