First School In New Zealand Connected To Hyperfibre

Network for Learning (N4L) has partnered with Spark and Chorus, to upgrade the first of a selected group of schools and kura with very high network usage to Hyperfibre - doubling their connection speed to 2Gbps, the fastest internet connection currently available for schools in Aotearoa.

Hyperfibre was installed at Wellington College on 31 May, giving them the opportunity to use cutting edge technologies that require faster internet speeds, delivering new learning experiences to students and productivity benefits to teachers.

The internet was heavily utilised at Wellington College by both kaiako and ākonga. The faster connection provided by Hyperfibre will improve the ability to learn, teach, work and innovate in the 1,700 student high school.

“Hyperfibre has increased the speed and throughput of our school's internet connection allowing our tauira to better interact with the world around them. Traffic congestion at peak times has been cleared up and it's also given the school new options around future internet traffic usage.” says Darrell Harvey, Wellington College’s Deputy Principal.

Larrie Moore, Chief Executive Officer of N4L, says technology is helping to provide more diverse learning opportunities and having a high speed network is a crucial piece of the puzzle.

“The way our tamariki are learning is changing and with this comes the need for ultra-fast fibre and low latency”.

“We are responsible for the broadband networks of New Zealand’s schools and kura. In conjunction with the Ministry of Education and our partners, we’re delighted to bring Hyperfibre to schools, ensuring that those networks are fit for purpose,” he says.

Grant McBeath, Customer Director at Spark says, “We’re excited to work with N4L to help more kiwi schools benefit from faster speeds and reliable internet connections. As more of the education curriculum is moving online, this could potentially see more schools and kura with hundreds of ākonga using tablet devices and other technologies for learning. Faster and more reliable internet speeds can help to facilitate a more seamless and engaging learning environment, transforming the way our next generation of schools teach, work and learn.”

Not all schools require more than a 1Gbps connection. For some larger schools who heavily utilise the internet, having a faster network that is more capable and secure is a huge benefit. N4L is focused on getting the right connection, reliability and bandwidth to schools, leveraging new technology and services as they become available.

Committed to helping all ākonga thrive in the digital world, N4L aims to do this through innovation and simple delivery, so that kaiako can focus on the important work of teaching and ākonga can focus on learning.

N4L and Spark will also be working with Hyperfibre providers Enable and Tuatahi First Fibre to connect the other selected schools over the coming months.

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