Connecting to the Internet – the options

"The Internet will become the single most significant information source available to school pupils. In the same way that the industrial revolution created a need for manual skills, the information age will create a need for knowledge skills."

(RM,1998b)

The objectives for the National Grid for Learning (NGfL) include:

By 2002 all schools, colleges, universities and libraries and as many community centres as possible should be connected to the Grid.
From 2002 general administrative communications to schools by the UK Education Departments, OFSTED and non-departmental public bodies, and the collection of data from schools, should cease to be paper-based.

(DfEE,1997)

For these objectives to be realised, schools require Internet access. A survey of secondary schools in 1997 found 46% of schools had only one computer connected to the Internet and only 13% of schools had access to the Internet via a network. (RM, 1998a) In 1998 the percentage of secondary schools with Internet access had increased to 75%. 30% of primary schools have Internet access, and as only 6% of UK primary schools have a LAN, this access is generally not networked.RM, 1999

In order to access the Internet, it is necessary to have a connection with an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Although many schools connect to commercial ISPs using dial-up, ISDN, or leased lines, there are a number companies offering an ISP service with specific educational content. Some of these specialist services use wireless data communications rather than the more traditional cabled telecommunications connections.

What type of Internet connection do schools need.

Before looking at the options available to schools, it is appropriate to ask what kind of Internet connection is needed. In 1995 the Education Department Superhighways Initiative (EDSI) established a number of projects throughout the UK to examine the potential for school use of broad bandwidth connectivity. Bandwidth describes the speed at which data is transferred. Many of the projects experimented with video conferencing. Others explored various multimedia applications. Although the intention had been that all schools should have a broadband connection to the Internet, this was not always possible.

The types of connection represented in the EDSI projects ranged from simple dial-up facilities using a modem, through ISDN to 2Mbps connections. They found that it was possible to introduce Internet usage in a school using a simple dial-up connection and a proxy server with web caching, but that this soon proved inadequate. Whatever the connection, the most successful projects were those where the school was able to identify an educational need and use technology to meet it. The less successful projects were those which were presented with the technology and then looked for a use for it.

If pupils are to use the Internet as a normal, integrated part of their studies, the connection between the school and the ISP must be fast enough, and must have enough access points to permit easy connection and minimise download times. A broad bandwidth alone does not guarantee fast Internet access. There are times of day, for example the mid-afternoon and early evening in the UK, which correspond with the working day in the USA, when Internet access is notoriously slow whatever connection is being used.

Data Transfer speeds	Narrowband Up to 56Kbps	Intermediate band Up to 2Mbps	Broad band More than 2Mbps
Medium most suited to	Text-based information	Text and graphics; large text transfer; limited video	Quality graphics and video; broadcast-quality video if >4Mbps
Email,text based conferencing, on-line chat	* * *	* * *	* * *
File transfer	** (small files)	* * *	* * *
WWW-General	* *	* * *	* * *
WWW - Graphics, audio, video	*	* *	* * *
Video conferencing	Quality currently unacceptable	* *	* * *
Broadcast quality video conferencing	Quality currently unacceptable	Quality currently unacceptable	* * but higher bandwidth

KEY * poor performance * * satisfactory performance * * * good performance

Figure 2 The Relationship between Bandwidth and Functionality: Source Connecting Schools, Networking People (BECTa, 1998)

A typical school solution is to buy a router and an ISDN2 connection offering bandwidth up to 128Kbps permitting up to 30 machines to access the Internet simultaneously. Figure 2 is reproduced from a British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTa) guide for schools planning their ICT strategy. It indicates the functionality of various bandwidths. It is clear that if a school wishes to use video conferencing or other high bandwidth applications, it needs to consider alternatives to ISDN.

What type of Internet connection do schools have.

Most schools with Internet connections use cabled telecommunications links. ISDN is becoming the norm, but there are very real questions as to whether this offers sufficient bandwidth at a reasonable cost, particularly in a secondary school. Some schools use commercial ISPs, but many choose specialist service providers where the service includes not only Internet access, web site hosting and email, but also specific educational services. These may include downloads of educational materials, filtering services, or education portals. In order to offer a higher bandwidth, some specialist ISPs are offering a wireless connection.

Ednet

Ednet is the Lancaster Education Network. It is based at Lancaster University and provides wireless Internet access for a number of educational establishments in the area. It was established in 1996 following a number of approaches to Lancaster University by schools seeking advice on how they might make Internet resources available to their pupils. It was decided to "come up with a scheme for providing a pervasive and high performance network that can be extended to all sites within the Lancaster District that may wish to join". (Forde, 1996)

The following criteria were identified for the project:

Access should be available from more than one computer at a time; each organisation should be linked in such a way as to permit multiple sessions to operate simultaneously.
Access should be of sufficient quality for it to be usable; it should be fast enough for graphics.
The initial capital costs should be reasonable enough to permit those organisations wanting to join to do so.
The recurrent costs should be very low and not linked to the amount of usage to permit proper budgeting.

Initially the project team considered commercial connection to the Internet using dial-up, ISDN, and leased line and the same connections to the University using the University as IAP. The conclusion reached was that none of these options met the project criteria and alternative connection methods should be considered. A 2.4GHz Radio LAN Overlay was the eventual recommendation. Appendix C describes wireless connectivity in greater depth.

"The technology will allow us to establish point-to-point links running at 2Mbps at ranges of up to 3.5 km… There must be a clear line of sight between the aerials… By careful positioning of the aerials it is possible to get multiple organisations connected via a single central aerial. Each organisation will get 2Mbps of bandwidth into the network which is enough to offer high quality access into the Internet." (Forde, 1996)

Ednet provides Internet access for several schools and colleges through this link. More distant colleges are linked through two 13GHz connections. At the University end of the network there is a gateway mechanism that connects EDNET to the University’s network, SuperJANET and the Internet.

Membership of EDNET costs a one-off joining fee of £4,500 plus an annual fee of £450. The joining fee includes the cost of the access router, radio equipment and meeting a portion of the infrastructure costs. Limited technical support is provided to schools joining the project.

Satellite technology

Two companies have developed specialised Internet services for schools using satellite. (See Appendix C). Both companies offer regular downloads of educational materials as well as providing an Internet connection. Espresso Productions have been providing a service to two schools since early 1997. A larger trial involving 200 primary schools in 15 local authorities was due to start in February 1999 but has suffered some delays. The service uses high bandwidth delivery with a return path via telephone lines. The possibility of also uploading by satellite is being tested. The charge is expected to be around £1.50 per pupil per term once the service becomes commercially available. This would represent a cost to the average primary school of over £1000 per annum, but a smaller school might find the added value of the educational downloads made the cost acceptable.

The Space Academy has been contracted by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to develop a satellite Internet service for schools. A monthly broadcast of educational material appropriate for primary schools is offered at £59 per month in addition to fast Internet access. Equipment costs £1495 with an annual charge of £1000 and 2 year minimum contract.

The average primary school has a relatively small budget once it has met personnel costs. Secondary schools tend to be slightly better off. In both cases, the ongoing costs of Internet connectivity need to be budgeted for together with the maintenance and replacement costs of ICT equipment.

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