- More than 500 Western Australian public school sites set to benefit from additional increases to their bandwidth capacity
- New upgrades expected to deliver 60 per cent overall increase in bandwidth capacity
- Some schools anticipating boosts of up to 150 per cent
More than 500 Western Australian public schools will receive an additional upgrade to their bandwidth capacity.
Education Minister Tony Buti today announced the new upgrades will be rolled out in the coming months, further enhancing access to online learning materials for students, teachers and other school staff.
This additional capacity builds on the massive bandwidth upgrades already rolled out to public schools across WA. Significantly, this initiative has enabled a range of schools that previously had limited bandwidth to use a full range of technologies - including high-definition multimedia content - and run simultaneous online learning and activities in a number of classrooms without 'lag'.
It is anticipated that the latest upgrades to public schools' bandwidth, which are part of a one-year extension to the Department of Education's telecommunications contract with Telstra and come at no additional cost, will result in a 60 per cent overall increase in bandwidth where Telstra has additional capacity in their network, with work commencing by July 2023.
Both metropolitan and regional schools will benefit from these increases, which are expected to be as significant as 150 per cent at some sites that were yet to receive their maximum available capacity.
Comments attributed to Education Minister Tony Buti:
"Demand for access to online learning materials and educational information continues to grow, so it's important that these services are regularly upgraded for schools and their students.
"This latest agreement with Telstra provides yet another significant increase to overall bandwidth capacity for WA public schools.
"It builds on the massive boost in bandwidth capacity that the McGowan Government has already delivered to enable students to learn using modern technology.
"This is a great outcome that I know will further empower students and educators to learn, work and collaborate online, wherever they are in the State."
Minister's office - 6552 5400
