Despite budget challenges, the education market will continue to be a hot arena for LAN networking technologies, according to In-Stat/MDR.
In-Stat/MDR's report, Making the Grade: Challenges & Opportunities in Education Broadband Networks, examines broadband access in educational environments in the US, including both K-12 and higher education markets.
The high-tech market research firm reports that, even though K-12 and higher education institutions alike are facing neutral or shrinking budgets, escalating Wide Area Network (WAN) bandwidth needs and the development of the campus network remain an important component of education IT budgets. As a result, future activity in the education markets will range from the implementation of Gigabit Ethernet to the desktop, through campus wide WLAN deployments, and enabling enhanced distance learning through streaming video.
The education market will continue, as it has in the past, to be a harbinger of what is to be in Local Area Network (LAN) networking, according to the report.
"Robust connectivity is an increasingly important attribute for educational institutions for streamlined administration, as well as enhanced educational opportunities," says Amy Cravens, an analyst with In-Stat/MDR. "Some schools are even using their technological prowess as a differentiator used to attract students."
As schools are increasingly restricted by tighter budgets, they are investing in new types of technologies like middleware products that aid in bandwidth management and traffic shaping to help direct bandwidth for its intended use and reduce network drain from non-academic traffic. VoIP is being investigated as a cost savings alternative to traditional analog PBX, according to the report.
In-Stat/MDR has also found that:
* The penetration of high-speed Internet and broadband networking into the K-12 and higher education markets is rapidly approaching ubiquity, with over 90% of K-12 schools supporting some type of broadband access and 95% of higher education institutions having such access.
* The education market is rapidly migrating to an optical fiber backbone. Compared to other industries, the education vertical is the most advanced in terms of introducing a fiber backbone, with the finance/banking industry looming a distant second. Currently, 16 % of the K-12 and 30 of the higher education network backbones are comprised of Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity.
* There is a large market opportunity to serve off-campus locations with broadband access. Many universities are attempting to broaden the reach of their network, either to remote labs/hospitals or university owned off-campus housing. Additionally, there is the opportunity to connect Greek housing and non-university owned housing for students.
In-Stat/MDR is based in Scottsdale, Ariz. For more information visit
www.instat.com.
