Christ the Sower primary school was one of the first schools to contract with E2BN Direct for Superfast Broadband and filtering.
The Superfast Broadband Challenge
In November 2013, the LA informed schools of a major change in the way broadband services would be made available. The LA would no longer contract with a single provider on behalf of schools. Instead schools would need to make their own procurement arrangements.
Several schools immediately contacted E2BN looking for help. Could E2BN provide a direct service based on the same features as the LA? Could E2BN provide Superfast Broadband, safe web access, mail services and NEN (The Education Network) access? And could E2BN it set up by April?
E2BN responded quickly and by December had contracts in place with around one-quarter of MK schools. By 1st April 19 school sites we connected with a further eight connected during April and May.
The fully managed E2BN Direct service provides business-class Superfast Broadband, where available, an on-site “gateway” server and E2BN Protex web filtering. As a Regional Broadband Consortium (RBC) E2BN is able to offer full access to Education Network (NEN) resources. Schools also have access to E2BN’s Domain Services and mail-relay back-up plus a wealth of technical expertise.
In some cases, schools opted to purchase their broadband from a 3rd party and then signed up for E2BN Direct Gateway which gives the school all of the above services.
The Superfast Process
To ensure a smooth transition, E2BN carried out a detailed site and network surveys at each school. E2BN placed orders for telephone/broadband lines and hardware during January with a view to going live before LA services were due to cease.
Christ the Sower with more than 400 students and staff migrated to the live E2BN Superfast Broadband service in mid-March 2014.
Theresa Stock, Network Manager at Christ the Sower commented:
“E2BN kept us informed at every stage. They provided the assistance we needed in order to prepare for the migration. When it came to switching over, the process was very easy. We were more than impressed with the whole process. We are delighted with the broadband speed, the fact that we can have our own web filtering configuration and excellent support on tap.”
The Superfast Broadband Outcome
“Compared to some other services we considered, E2BN Direct provides the essential features and services we require at a competitive cost”