Siemens Building Technologies Security Systems has a £4 million contract to supply a CLEO telecoms network to 48 schools across the north west of England. The new 40km dark fibre network will deliver high bandwidth (100 megabytes) and meets the Government requirement to provide private broadband networks in schools.
Siemens has secured the contract through Cumbria and Lancashire Education Online (CLEO) which provides a broadband network for all schools across Cumbria and Lancashire. Typical applications includes use of broadband technology in the classroom, provision of virtual learning environments, video conferencing and online teaching,learning resources and supporting pupils learning at home and teachers in their work.
Deborah Murrell, Project Manager for CLEO says: “We were looking for a communication network that offered a secure solution, provided value over time and would be capable of meeting the demands for bandwidth in the classroom well into the future. Having control over dedicated fibre networks, as we will have in this case, is proving a cost competitive way of meeting the growing demands for bandwidth from schools.”
Peter Hawksworth, Siemens Building Technologies Security Solutions managing director says: “Public sector organizations, whether in central or local government, health or education are facing a huge growth in data traffic. They are under constant pressure to achieve maximum value for money, driving many to seek the option of owning their own dedicated fibre network.
“The CLEO network requires significant amounts of data to be carried between sites as cost effectively as possible. Our focus was to drive best value by designing a scaleable solution with capacity for future upgrades to be undertaken simply and effectively. We have used modern fibre technology to produce a bespoke, future proof communications platform capable of providing cable solutions for the long term.”
CLEO purchased the network via the OGC framework, for which Siemens holds Catalyst supplier status. This enabled CLEO to benefit from pre-agreed terms and conditions.
The first stage of the project is due to be completed by March 09 and the next phase will involve a further 13 schools across the area.
