Adelaide (SA capital)
Telstra has expanded on its relationship with the South Australian Government, striking a $50 million deal to supply, implement and support enhanced network and internet management services for the state’s public schools and preschools.
In 2018, the telco struck a landmark partnership with the state government to connect almost every public school to a high-speed fibre optic network.
That undertaking saw 514 government schools across the state of South Australia connected to a high-speed fibre optic network capable of speeds of 1Gbps and up, according to Telstra.
The latest network management deal, which is set to run for the next six years, sees Telstra implement Cisco SD-WAN across 821 school sites.
Given that the state’s schools are once again the central focus of the latest deal, information security and the privacy of students plays a big part in Telstra’s remit this time around.
Indeed, the telco’s enterprise IT services business, Telstra Purple, is working with vendor partners Palo Alto Networks, Saasyan and Cisco Systems, to deliver a safe solution to the 821 schools and preschools statewide.
Telstra is also working with the SA Department for Education to roll out Cisco WebEx for remote learning, a service that will allow teachers to create their own individual online learning space to deliver live video lessons and learning content for their classes.
According to SA Education Minister John Gardner, the deal marks a “huge” investment in up-to-date technology for the state’s schools and preschools.
“We are excited to be partnering with Telstra to deliver a second stage of the Marshall Government’s high-speed internet rollout, ensuring our schools and preschools can not only access, but can safely use and maximise their high-speed internet connections,” Gardner said.
“Schools connected to date have been overwhelmingly positive about their experience, using their increased speeds and reliability to support the delivery of innovative lessons and learning to students.
“The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of our students and educators having access to fast, reliable and safe technology to deliver modern learning,” he added.
