SWAN connected more than two thousand schools to the Internet via the EDUNET system

The current Covid-19 pandemic has not only forced a large proportion of people to work in the form of home offices, but students have not been able to go to school for several months. Schools had to switch to distance learning, which is helped by the school Internet system EDUNET. According to its operator, the company SWAN, more than two thousand schools have access to it. In total, almost 400,000 students managed to join it.

The pandemic has changed the way EDUNET is used

During the arrival of the first wave, schools closed almost immediately, which complicated the installation of the technology. We managed to catch up with the delay last year during the summer holidays. Just to illustrate, it took ten months to connect two thousand schools, of which we managed a thousand during the summer. Due to the experience gained from the previous period, we managed the second wave of the pandemic without any serious delays, of course in compliance with all hygienic recommendations.

Jozef Lasz, project director for Edunet from the company SWAN, as, the project supplier.

Originally, the system was developed to allow the sending of data mainly to schools. The current situation and online teaching has caused the data to flow in the opposite direction. Teachers teach and often broadcast from schools, which changes the demands on the network.

We try to help them if it is technically possible. About a hundred schools have approached us in the last two months and 80 of them have already increased the capacity of the so-called up-loadu. To other, more than 300 schools, we have increased transmission speeds at the request of the Ministry of Education and we are working on other schools.

Jozef Lasz, project director for Edunet from the company SWAN, as, the project supplier.

The Internet is mainly provided by optical infrastructure and older LTE technology

Currently, 2,073 schools are connected to the EDUNET network, which in practice means 395,000 students and more than 61,000 teachers and school staff. Connectivity is mediated mainly by optical infrastructure. When not available, the school is connected by air via modern microwave links or LTE Advanced technology, which is the predecessor of 5G networks. If it is not possible to connect the school with these technologies, other options arise, such as DSL. The most modern devices are installed in the schools themselves, thanks to which many of them can already use high connection speeds of up to 1Gbps today.

The project is covered by the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic

In addition to connectivity, the project also includes other services, especially the protection of children and young people from inappropriate content based on filters according to the user’s age. These are set and defined by the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic. Through a central point, schools have access to digital curriculum. SWAN, as a solution provider, also protects the entire Edunet network from hacker attacks. Also, for example, non-stop monitoring of provided services and call center services. But what the schools themselves felt immediately was the high standard of coverage of the premises by a modern WiFi network.

That has not been the standard so far. Until now, schools have dealt with it mainly on their own. We came up with a different solution at each school. Either it was a sponsorship gift, or the school bought the equipment itself. Often, however, they were not professional solutions, but solutions intended for households.

Jozef Lasz, project director for Edunet from the company SWAN, as, the project supplier.

The connection of schools will continue in the future, depending on their interest. The schools themselves do not pay for the services, the project is managed and financed by the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic.

What is EDUNET?

The most modern school internet system that meets the demands of education today. The goal of EDUNET is to provide Internet connectivity, telecommunications and data services. An important part is also the services of central management and direct access to digital educational content. Its predecessor is the Infovek 2 project. Kindergartens, primary and secondary schools and other school facilities that belong to them can be gradually connected to EDUNET. In total, there are almost 7,000 institutions.

Interesting numbers about Edunet
• 2,073 schools currently involved
• 10,000 installed devices in schools
• The 100 Gbps all-Slovak backbone network of SWAN forms the basis of Edunet
• 1 Gbps is the highest possible school connection speed
• 100 installation teams with operations throughout Slovakia worked on the implementation of the project