TAIWAN - March 8, 2007 - The National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) has deployed a Cisco® Unified Wireless Network solution to provide comprehensive wireless Internet connections across its three campuses. The Cisco solution not only supports the administration of the university and helps enable professors to utilize the wireless network for outdoor instruction, but also allows more students to attend classes with laptops and makes academic research easier and more efficient.

Powered by the Cisco Unified Wireless Network, the NTNU Campus Wireless Network Project provides the university staff and student body with real-time access to a wide range of resources across a wireless network with optimized connectivity, security and reliability. NTNU staff and students are able to enjoy the convenience of this wireless Internet connection anytime and anywhere on the university campuses in a safe environment.

NTNU aims to build "e-classrooms" that integrate projectors, screens, computers and pen tablets to provide a user-friendly teaching and learning environment. The Cisco Unified Wireless Network also allows NTNU to improve distance-learning services, including the use of digital video equipment, enabling students to attend the same classes on different campuses. NTNU can also make use of this state-of-the-art technology to broadcast on-line lectures from other universities and provide them with materials in exchange.

"We chose the Cisco Unified Wireless Network because of Cisco's leading position in supplying highly compatible, reliable and scalable networking infrastructure, and its compliance with international safety standards. As the Cisco Unified Wireless Network is designed to be compatible and interoperable with products from other suppliers, it gives us a comprehensive and complete network structure," said Professor Greg C. Lee, director of the NTNU Computing Center.

"In addition to its proven record in networking technologies, Cisco also provides real-time support and maintenance, as well as sound training programs for IT professionals, facilitating the implementation of more Web-based projects on our campuses," Lee added.

The NTNU Campus Wireless Network Project was initiated at the end of 2002 and officially launched in 2003. Because the main campus, the College of Science and the Linkou Campus are in separate areas of the city, the implementation was completed in three phases. The full wireless network was implemented in 2006, providing over 90 percent coverage of all campuses.

Given the unique implementation requirements of integrating three independent campuses across the streets of Taipei using a single network structure, Cisco customized the NTNU networking environment. To help ensure network stability, signal strength and consistency, more than 1,400 access points are deployed throughout the campuses. Access points are located 80 to 90 meters apart in order to provide comprehensive coverage. As a result, NTNU has among the best wireless network coverage of all the universities in Taiwan, with network signal strength higher than 80 percent anywhere on its campuses.

Since NTNU is a member of the Taiwan Advanced Research & Education Network (TWAREN), a project led by the Executive Yuan of Taiwan, NTNU can interconnect its wireless network with those of 12 other universities, meaning that staff and students are able to roam and access the Internet on other campuses with their NTNU accounts.

The Cisco Unified Wireless Network that underpins the NTNU Campus Wireless Network Project is built on Cisco Catalyst® 6500 Series Switches, Cisco Aironet® 1200 Series Access Points and other networking equipment such as routers. The Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches deliver outstanding scalability and performance, which can best meet NTNU's needs in integrating separate campuses and connecting with the local network center of the National Taiwan University and the Ministry of Education computer center. These switches support broad coverage and effectively provide services without forgoing network performance. Cisco Aironet 1200 Series Access Points deliver a wireless infrastructure with high mobility and agility, allowing users to access all network resources through a highly secure and easy-to-manage wireless network wherever the access points are deployed. The Cisco wireless network solution is compatible with most common end-user devices and supports all Wi-Fi-compatible laptops and PDAs, optimizing the lecturing and learning results.

"Cisco is delighted to work with the National Taiwan Normal University, the first university in Taiwan to deploy Cisco's industry-leading wireless networking solution," said Mr. C.H. Wu, general manager of Cisco Taiwan. "Cisco will continue to help the National Taiwan Normal University apply the latest network technologies to academic practices based on this stable network infrastructure, and we anticipate further collaboration in the future."