San Marino Unified School District taps Motorola to help make the shift
toward an all-wireless campus.

By Regina Ciardiello, Managing Editor
Vertical Systems Reseller
rciardiello@edgellmail.com

Earlier this year, Motorola's Enterprise Mobility business made a groundbreaking announcement directly related toward the wireless community when it introduced its AP-7131 -- the industry's first tri-radio 802.11n access point. This new technology is already making its way within various vertical markets, specifically the education sector. Since many colleges and universities are making the shift toward 100 percent mobility at a rapid pace, they of course, will require technology and protocols that can meet these needs.

One such group is the San Marino Unified School District, which decided to deploy the new Motorola solution with the assistance of Moonblink Communications, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Motorola partner, who worked with the California school district so that the application was up and running by the opening day of the school year on Aug. 26. According to Darrell Alfaro, Moonblink's CEO, the company first provided a site survey assessment back in March to determine the school district's needs. Since there would be approximately 1,200 students and 150 faculty members utilizing computers, laptops and 802.11n-ready client devices, Moonblink felt that the new AP-7131 APs utilizing 802.11n technology was the way to go. "We initially performed a site survey (at the school) and plotted coverage areas," Alfaro says. "We decided that the area would need about 25 APs for full coverage, and that Motorola's new 802.11n product was a viable solution for the school."

Prior to Moonblink and Motorola working with San Marino, it was discovered that the school district was using a current wireless solution. However, according to Alfaro, it was not comprehensive, and part of his collaboration with Motorola was to ensure that the school district would receive a secure, all-encompassing wireless network. "They (San Marino) were using a wireless solution, but it was not the solution they were currently looking for, and didn't have the features of the Motorola system," he says.

Since the school district wanted to provide wireless access to both students and faculty, but didn't want students to have access to restricted faculty information, such as grades and assignments, Alfaro and the Moonblink team felt that the AP-7131 would fulfill the need for dual access points, separating student and teacher access.

With testing complete, the network will be a new addition for students and teachers upon arriving for their first day of classes this year. Stephen Choi, who is the school district's director of technology, is both excited and optimistic that the new wireless network will open up a new world of opportunity for both students and teachers, which will eventually include wireless access to live on-campus sporting events.

Choi also notes that the project would not have been such a success without the positive collaboration of both Motorola and Moonblink. "The VAR (Moonblink) was very helpful, and they had a very good relationship with Motorola," he says. They successfully performed the site survey, and they cooperated with our internal staff in terms of deploying the solution; they were also always regularly available to support us, which are essential, since we don't have an in-house staff here."

Since the San Marino Unified School District is the highest ranked in California in terms of academics, it therefore believes in only the best when it comes to new technological innovations, so that was one of the reasons why, according to Choi, that the school district decided to work with Motorola. "We firmly believe in innovation, and we selected Motorola because when it comes to innovation, they are the leaders."

 
ScoreCard

End User:
San Marino Unified School District

Solution Provider:
Moonblink Communications

Vendor:
Motorola

Solution:
An all-wireless network utilized by both students and faculty.



Editor's Note: For more Real-Life Solutions case studies, click on the link below: 
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