Meru Networks, Inc., provider of 802.11n wireless LAN solutions, today
announced that it has achieved record growth across the higher
education, K-12, primary and secondary school markets.
Meru’s significant growth in sales in the education market since 2009 is driven
by the company’s unique approach. Meru puts the network, not client
devices, in control, enabling Air Traffic Control™ and Airtime
Fairness™. Unlike client-controlled approaches to wireless, Meru’s
System Director OS virtualizes the WLAN by pooling the access point
resources, partitioning bandwidth and customizing the experience for
each user based on device speed ad application need. Meru’s Air Traffic
Control technology allocates bandwidth across the RF spectrum based on
that need, while Meru’s Airtime Fairness makes it possible for
high-demand applications and devices to have fair access to the
bandwidth they require, without compromising lower-demand devices.
Students
at all levels benefit from connected learning environments and
interactive educational experiences whereby they can share ideas and
communicate with other students and teachers. For example, in K-12 and
primary school classrooms 1:1 laptop initiatives and online learning
have quickly gained popularity for their ability to improve student
performance. On campuses worldwide, wireless connectivity fosters collaboration with professors and fellow students, and enables more convenient and effective learning.
“Meru’s
wireless network powers our 1:1 laptop initiative and has enabled
next-generation learning environments where students and teachers
thrive,” said Chris Carey, technology coordinator, Bellarmine College
Preparatory. “Our kids engage with vast sources of educational content
on laptops and tablets. Reliable wireless connectivity is critical. The
Meru network is reliable and cost effective and it allows our teachers
to focus on engaging the students with rich educational experiences
rather than losing precious class time acting as the IT helpdesk.”
Universities,
including Villanova University and Utah State University, are among the
thousands of schools that have standardized on Meru for wireless access
across their campuses. “Our job is to provide
students and faculty with uncompromising network access–and we have to
do so without incurring additional costs or overhead," said Robert A. Mays, director, network and
communications, Villanova University. "We moved to Meru
because we needed to scale our network quickly, without expanding our IT
team. With Meru, we are able to provide reliable, high-performance
wireless connectivity for our students and staff anywhere on campus.”
In-Stat forecasts
that 1.9 billion Wi-Fi devices will be in use by 2014–presumably, many
of these will find their way onto college campuses. Just months after
the release of the first iPhone, Wakefield Research did a survey for the
Wi-Fi Alliance, which found that 48 percent of college students would
give up beer before giving up Wi-Fi. Seventy-five percent also said
that Wi-Fi access helps them get better grades. The first iPad,
released in April 2010, sold 3 million units in the first 80 days—a
well-documented trend that continues today even as the iPad is joined by
hundreds of other types of Wi-Fi devices. Today, virtually 100 percent
of college students have at least one Wi-Fi device on campus at all
times–and they’re all accessing network resources continuously and
simultaneously. These campuses require a state-of-the-art wireless
network that controls the way devices access network resources to meet
this demand.