Schools choosing Meru wireless.

Judging by the amount of publicity it is sending out, Meru Networks is either the 800-pound gorilla in the education-focused wireless mesh industry, or trying to give the impression that it is. The company certainly has made significant inroads into the educational market, with numerous new client announcements in recent weeks.

The company says that more than 70 educational institutions have deployed its wireless LAN system throughout their campuses, including 42 universities and colleges, and 28 K-12 school districts. Meru's WLAN system combines Meru controllers, access points and the four-radio Meru radio switch.

At universities, wireless is increasingly the primary means of communication for students, administrators and faculty. K-12 school districts are now following suit and adopting next-generation wireless-enabled IT infrastructure strategies.

"Although other WLAN vendors have touted deployments in the education sector, this is the first time we've seen such a significant number of K-12 districts, universities and colleges moving to an all-wireless environment," says Richard Webb, directing analyst, wireless broadband and mobile for Infonetics Research. "With deployments such as the Philadelphia School District's School of the Future, educational institutions now have a model to follow-one that demonstrates the productivity and ROI benefits that can be achieved with this kind of wireless infrastructure."

The School District of Philadelphia, servicing more than 210,000 students across 278 schools, is a partnership between the district and Microsoft that seeks to transform education through technology. The primary goal of the School of the Future project is to infuse technology into every aspect of the educational environment.

"A robust wireless infrastructure is at the heart of our School of the Future initiative," says Bob Westall, executive director for information technology, School District of Philadelphia. "The benefits of wireless for mobility, flexibility and cost savings were a given. The Meru WLAN system afforded additional, unique benefits, including its ability to handle high-density environments, such as auditoriums, libraries, cafeterias and classrooms, where wireless users will congregate and want to simultaneously access the network. We were also impressed with Meru's QoS capabilities."

Among the K-12 institutions that have adopted Meru technology over the past 12 months is Mona Shores School District in Muskegon, Mich. Mona Shores has deployed Meru WLANs across its entire district, serving approximately 4,300 students, 225 teachers and 550 employees.

According to Lane White, the district's director of technology, "Meru's single-channel approach simplified deployment and management of our wireless network. With this system, we are saving time and money from the administrative perspective, as well as saving teachers and students valuable time in the classroom."