When Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham first established a high-speed connection over a decade ago, the East Midlands Metropolitan Area Network (EMMAN) was born.
With a mandate to connect regional colleges to a nationwide academic network, EMMAN needed a communications infrastructure that was reliable and scalable – and a communications partner who could offer expertise and flexibility.
ntl:Telewest Business delivered on both counts, providing an advanced high-speed network that supports not only teaching and research, but also the day-to-day management of the region’s educational institutions.
Linking students across the East Midlands
East Midlands Metropolitan Area Network (EMMAN) Ltd was formed to provide connectivity to academic institutions in Rutland, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. Our high-capacity communications infrastructure links eight universities and over 40 further education colleges – supporting learning and enabling effective management of universities and further education colleges across the East Midlands region.
Making connections, sharing resources
Whenever a student in an East Midlands university logs onto the internet, or sends an email, this is made possible by the EMMAN network. With approximately 600,000 users at just over 50 sites, it provides high-speed internet connectivity and access to JANET*, the UK’s education and research network – a communications infrastructure that connects academic institutions not only across the UK, but around the world.
"As well as supporting learning activities, it is also a critical tool for the efficient administration of colleges and universities," says Ian Griffiths, Executive Director at EMMAN. "In addition, the network allows educational institutions to collaborate and share resources such as research databases and specialist software, as well as providing a valuable disaster recovery facility."
Key strategic partnership
Since EMMAN’s inception over a decade ago, ntl:Telewest Business has been a key strategic partner. Our advanced Dark Fibre Solution provides the core infrastructure that connects the universities. Linked to this backbone via fully-managed ntl:Telewest Business services – including Ethernet Extensions, Leased Lines and National Ethernet connections – are a number of other local academic institutions, such as further education colleges, research councils, and even the National Space Centre.
Ian believes that our excellent working relationship has been an important factor in the project’s success. "ntl:Telewest Business is very much a ‘can do’ company," he explains. "As well as providing valuable expertise, the consultants are always positive, flexible and responsive to our needs. They also keep us informed about new products, and often point out ways in which we can achieve faster connections or reduce costs."
Resilient network for the future
For a network used by thousands of students, academics and administrators, robustness is critical. To provide reliable, 24x7 connectivity, the sophisticated EMMAN network is designed for optimum resilience, with no university dependent on a single connection. "You can never achieve 100% reliability but we aim to get as close as we can," remarks Ian. "With 99.95% availability, we make sure that we keep institutions online and connected."
Easy scalability is also vital. "Increased use of high-bandwidth applications such as videoconferencing and VoIP means that we’re seeing capacity requirements double every 18 months," comments Ian. "However, because we have a dark fibre solution, it’s a straightforward task to increase connection speeds across our core infrastructure."
What it has made possible
As well as enabling innovative new multimedia teaching methods, the future-looking EMMAN network has fundamentally transformed the way in which educational institutions in the East Midlands are run – improving efficiency while reducing costs. For example, at Nottingham Trent University, approximately one third of phones are now VoIP-enabled, with calls carried over the next generation ntl:Telewest Business infrastructure. Other developments supported by the communications network include the introduction of smart cards that control everything from access to halls of residence to the lending of library books.
As each institution makes its own decisions about how best to exploit the opportunities of high-speed connectivity, EMMAN continues to evolve its visionary network to meet the needs of existing academic sites – as well as other public sector bodies such as the region’s hospitals and local authorities. In this, it can count on support and advice from our accessible team of experts. Ian concludes: "So far, every time we’ve wanted to take a step forward in speed and scope, ntl:Telewest Business has been able to offer the service we need."
