Benedict College Deploys Proxim Wi-Fi and Broadband Wireless Solutions to Extend Campus LAN and Speed Services
December 06 2004 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Benedict College Deploys Proxim Wi-Fi and Broadband Wireless
Solutions to Extend Campus LAN and Speed Services Combination of
Proxim ORiNOCO Access Points and Tsunami MP.11a Broadband Wireless
System Gives Students 24/7 Access, Saves Time and Money for College
IT Staff SUNNYVALE, Calif., Dec. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Proxim
Corporation (NASDAQ:PROX), a global leader in wireless networking
equipment for Wi-Fi and broadband wireless networks, today
announced that Benedict College, a Columbia, South Carolina-based
college focused on the education of African- Americans, has
deployed a wireless network based on Proxim's Wi-Fi and broadband
wireless equipment. Using a combination of Proxim ORiNOCO AP-4000
and AP-600 access points and a Tsunami MP.11a radio, the college
can now give its 3,000 students and 500+ faculty and staff high
speed access to the Internet and to the school's various resources
and services. In addition, the new wireless network provides easy
and cost-effective year-round network access to support the
school's ongoing activities including registration, long-distance
learning and graduation. Prior to deploying the wireless network,
Benedict College's small IT staff struggled with set-up for the
school's numerous events, such as long-distance presentations and
registration. These events typically require Internet, satellite or
basic network access for large numbers of faculty, students and
constituents. To deliver this access, Benedict's IT staff had to
bring in special equipment and pull wires, a process that was
expensive and time- consuming. The set-up for Benedict's
registration, for example, typically took at least a full week. By
deploying Proxim's ORiNOCO AP-4000 and AP-600 Wi-Fi access points,
the college achieved year-round, wireless access for its students
and faculty. Registration set-up time was cut in half, and
students' waiting time during the registration process was greatly
reduced. The college also deployed Proxim's ORiNOCO AP-4000 and
AP-600 Wi-Fi access points throughout its campus to give students
high-speed access to the Internet and to library materials,
resources and services. With access points located in the college
library and gym, students and faculty -- regardless of their
location on campus -- can easily and conveniently access the
Internet, send and receive e-mail, and retrieve articles, notes and
books. In addition, Benedict used Proxim's Tsunami MP.11a broadband
wireless system to provide connectivity between a campus dorm and
off-site administration buildings. Benedict had an existing fiber
network in place, but using fiber or leased lines to extend
connectivity to additional off-site buildings would have been
cost-prohibitive. Proxim's Tsunami MP.11a allows Benedict to extend
this high-speed connectivity cost-effectively to remote sites as
the college grows and adds more locations. "Working with our local
broadband wireless service provider, Conterra, LLC, we evaluated
various solutions that might help us achieve our goals and reduce
the burden on our relatively small IT staff," said Katrina Damon,
network administrator for Benedict College. "The fact that Proxim
could provide a combined indoor-outdoor solution that was robust
and scalable and more importantly for our staff, easy to configure,
re-configure and maintain, made our decision quite easy." Added
Damon, "The time and expense previously required to manage our
college's important events such as registration and graduation,
have been dramatically reduced, and our students and faculty are
now benefiting from reliable, convenient wireless access." "Proxim
has had great success in the educational market in large part,
because our unique combination of Wi-Fi and broadband wireless
solutions saves money and increases the efficiency of school IT
staff," said Lynn Lucas, vice president of product marketing for
Proxim. "With a cost-effective, scalable wireless network in place,
higher education providers of every size -- from major universities
to specialized colleges like Benedict -- can give students the 24/7
access to information and resources they need to achieve their
goals, and can provide school faculty with the tools they need to
do their jobs." Due to the success of their initial implementation,
Benedict College is evaluating several ways to expand the wireless
network including deployment of additional Wi-Fi hot spots around
the campus, particularly in the library basement to facilitate
Spring registration and in a park near the library where many
events are held. In addition, the college is considering deployment
of an additional Tsunami point-to-point system to link the
college's new stadium, currently under construction, to the rest of
the campus. About Conterra Conterra, LLC, specializes in the
design, deployment and operation of carrier-grade digital
point-to-point and point-to-multipoint wireless broadband systems.
Its customers include education and government institutions and
small to medium size businesses. Headquartered in Charlotte, NC,
with offices in Columbia, SC, Conterra was established by the
founders and management of Vanguard Cellular Systems, Inc., one of
the first independent cellular companies in the United States.
About Proxim Proxim Corporation is a global leader in wireless
networking equipment for Wi-Fi and broadband wireless networks. The
company is providing its enterprise and service provider customers
with wireless solutions for the mobile enterprise, security and
surveillance, last mile access, voice and data backhaul, public hot
spots, and metropolitan area networks. This press release and more
information about Proxim can be found on the Web at
http://www.proxim.com/. Safe Harbor This press release may contain
forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from Proxim's expectations in
these statements. For additional information regarding risks
relating to Proxim's business, see Proxim Corporation's Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2003 and Forms 10-Q for quarters
ended July 2, 2004 and October 1, 2004, Current Reports on Form
8-K, and other relevant materials filed by Proxim with the SEC.
Proxim assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these
forward-looking statements. DATASOURCE: Proxim Corporation CONTACT:
Sylvia Clark Hooks of Proxim Corporation, +1-408-542-3357 or ; or
Lori S. Hultin of LSH Communications, +1-818-879-4651 or , for
Proxim Web site: http://www.proxim.com/
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