Focus on Networks and Infrastructure

2007 will be the year of networks and infrastructure in New Zealand! After years of ‘patch-work’ investment in computer labs and localised networks and VPNs the realisation that there is a need for a more coordinated, end-to-end approach will drive activity at a range of levels. 

Key indicators to watch for:

• Government investment in school's network upgrade project to receive continued support
• Changes in the funding model for schools to enable this
• Schools connecting to local high speed fibre networks ('loops'), often as part of a wider scale community-based MUSH network
• The emergence of shared services across these networks that will potentially enable schools to save money in some of these key areas and allow access to deep wells of resources
• School access to the KAREN network, resulting (at least in the short term) in an inevitable digital divide emerging between those schools that can connect and those that can't.