A group of Waikato educators are treading the path of e-learning in the hope of opening up a new world for students.

The Hamilton Fibre Network is providing ultra-fast fibre broadband speeds ten times faster than current copper broadband to a growing number of schools.

The Hedon Trust (Hamilton Education Open Network) has been formed to capitalise on the capabilities of an ultra-fast fibre broadband network that is being established around Hamilton.

The aim is to ensure pupils at all 55 Hamilton primary and secondary schools have access to the speed of light communication device that is fibre – within six years.

So far there is a mix of public, private and integrated schools on the network - Southwell School, Whitiora Primary and Hamilton East and Marian School included - all benefitting from dramatically faster internet access than they’ve previously had access to.

Hedon Trust member Royce Helm says the ultra-fast fibre connectivity allows internet access at up to 100Mbit/s and it is quickly and easily allowing schools to explore new ways of using it to enhance their operational activities.

“We have 400 PCs on campus, along with 140 laptops, which provide wireless connectivity for year seven students,” says Royce Helm.

“We can have 100 students accessing the internet at any one time without noticeable delays. With the benefits we have seen, we will continue to encourage network-wide teacher and resource sharing to boost educational opportunities for our local students,” says Royce Helm.

The schools already on the Hamilton city fibre loop have joined in a relatively short time and he holds hope that it will eventually reach all 55 schools in the Hamilton region.

“The more schools that are on the same ultra-fast fibre network, the more we will find new opportunities for collaborative learning. That will lead to improved educational outcomes and cost savings because we will be able to share network servers between schools.

The Hedon Trust is being guided by Hamilton company Velocity Networks – a member of the New Zealand Regional Fibre Group - at least in the technology and connectivity stakes.

Velocity business development manager Shane Hobson says in partnership with the Hamilton Fibre Network he is working on connecting more schools, businesses and homes to fibre.

In the past week, Velocity has signed its first aerial fibre customer – St Columba’s School - to a 100Mbit/s access service. The company is now considering offering aerial FTTH to those residential dwellings that the cable will pass on its way to St Columba’s.

Meantime, like Royce Helm, he expects more schools to join the fibre loop.

Having worked on two Waikato school boards – currently Melville Primary – and as one of the innovators of broadband networks, Shane Hobson knows the subject of fibre well and has big ambitions for Hamilton and the wider region.

The man devised and established Waikato’s first open access wireless broadband network back in 1999 and is sold on fibre.

“We now have a good slice of Hamilton CBD connected and those businesses and schools in the loop are stoked with the performance. We have also just connected Velocity’s first ‘fibre to the home’ customer and we want to now connect every apartment block in town.

“It is unique in that this is probably the first FTTH customer in a brownfields site, yet we are competing against the incumbent and it's an open access network, not vertically integrated,” says Mr Hobson.

The connection includes a VoIP line and 100 mbps symmetrical internet access.

“The upload speed is particularly crucial in this instance as the customer is a commercial photographer who uploads photos to his server from home. The same needs apply to schools and that is why we are determined to show them the capabilities of fibre – from internet and security to phone and high quality video conferencing which allows for remote learning.”