Telstra and Cisco head up to Nth QLD

Telstra has deployed Cisco's wireless broadband network and Cisco Unified Communications at Djarragun, an indigenous school in far north Queensland.

The network will connect the two Djarragun College campuses, providing a virtual learning environment that will enable collaboration and the sharing of information by the school community.

Djarragun College is an independent primary and secondary school in Gordonvale -  located 20 kilometres south of Cairns and its sister campus at Wangetti, about 100 kilometres away. The schools cater to about 700 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

A Cisco spokesperson told CRN the network will help reduce the need for staff to travel between the two facilities.

 Within each campus Telstra will install 50 Cisco Unified IP Phones.

"Telstra is providing the broadband and the support for," said the spokesperson.

With the telco adding to the existing network capacity with an installation of optic fibre near Djarragun College and a frame relay circuit at Wangetti.

The network will also serve as the platform the use of Cisco WebEx, a system of Internet-based real-time video and collaboration applications.

The Cisco spokesperson said no local channel partners are involved in the project at this stage.

"But we can't rule it out over time," they said.