MAY/JUNE 2016
|
www.broadbandcommunities.com
|
BROADBAND COMMUNITIES
|
13
Before designing Centennial Village,
CHOC met with a focus group of
students to ask what they would like
to see in the new dormitory. A crucial
requirement, the students said, was a
good internet connection. In addition
to having the usual level of interest in
gaming and entertainment, the students
had educational needs for internet
access. Every student at Olds is issued an
iPad, and class assignments usually have
an online component.
After reviewing the available
options, CHOC selected O-NET –
which already provided internet service
to the classroom and administration
buildings – as the internet provider.
"No one could come close to the level
of service that O-NET could provide,"
says Tanya Kure, vice president of
CHOC, "and we appreciate that they're
a local community group. Tat made
them even more appealing."
Nathan Kusiek, director of business
development for O-NET, explains:
"O-NET was the frst company in
Canada to ofer gigabit residential and
business service, and Olds College was
the frst college to have gigabit service.
We wanted to ensure that students could
maintain the same level of internet
service at home that they had in class."
CHOC's decision to provide gigabit
service to the new residence led to the
decision to retroft the network in the
existing townhouses. Tis ensured that
PROPERTY OF THE MONTH HIGHLIGHTS
~ Centennial Village and College Court, Olds, Alberta ~
• First fber gigabit-to-the-bed student housing in Canada
• Privately owned, on-campus housing served by municipal fber network
• Service provided through fber and fber/Ethernet networks
• Vendors include Calix, Cisco, Cisco Meraki and Netgear.
Centennial Village student housing at Olds College