Christ the Sower is one of many Milton Keynes schools delighted with their recent change of internet provider to E2BN Direct.
In November 2013 Milton Keynes Schools were informed by the Local Authority of a major change in the way broadband services would be made available from April 2014. The LA would no longer contract with a single provider on behalf of schools and would instead require schools to make their own procurement arrangements.
Several schools immediately contacted E2BN as a trusted partner, to discuss whether it could provide a direct service based on the same features they were used to; education-focussed, fast broadband, safe web access, mail services and NEN (The Education Network) access.
E2BN responded quickly and by December 2013 had contracts in place with around one-quarter of MK schools. By 1st April nineteen school sites were connected with a further eight connected during April and May 2014.
The fully managed E2BN Direct service is built around business-class superfast broadband where available, an on-site “gateway” server and E2BN Protex web filtering. As a Regional Broadband Consortium (RBC) E2BN is able to offer full access to Education Network (NEN) resources. Schools also have access to E2BN’s Domain Services and mail-relay back-up plus a wealth of technical expertise.
In some cases, schools opted to purchase their broadband from a 3rd party and then signed up for E2BN Direct Gateway which gives the school all of the above services.
To ensure a smooth transition, E2BN carried out a detailed site and network surveys at each school. Orders were placed for telephone/broadband lines and hardware during January with a view to going live before LA services were due to cease.
Prior to the termination of Milton Keynes Council’s Education wide-area-network contracts, the Christ the Sower school had been connected to the Local Authority infrastructure, the internet and the Education Network (NEN) via microwave wireless technology.
Christ the Sower with more than 400 students and staff was migrated to the live E2Bn service in mid-March 2014.
Theresa Stock, Network Manager at Christ the Sower commented:
“E2BN kept us informed at every stage. They provided the assistance we needed in order to prepare for the migration. When it came to switching over, the process was very easy. We were more than impressed with the whole process. As a result, we are delighted with the broadband speed, the fact that we can have our own web filtering configuration and excellent support on tap.”
“Compared to some other services we considered, E2BN Direct provides the essential features and services we require at a competitive cost”