The IPV shows the educational future with WiFi 6E and OpenRoaming

The Portuguese educational center IPV has launched a pilot test that includes 8K video, interactive and immersive classroom experiences and remote learning. It is presented as the first time that WiFi 6E has been tested on a network connected to WBA OpenRoaming.

In it Viseu Polytechnic Institute ( Polytechnic Institute of Viseu – IPV) In Portugal a test has been carried out with WiFi 6E which includes 8K video, interactive experiences in classrooms and remote learning.

The test shows the capacity of the access point AP4000 Wi-Fi 6E de Extreme Networks to enable interactive and immersive learning experiences, including 8K video. This was also the first time that WiFi 6E has been tested on a network connected to Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) OpenRoaming, that allows a transfer between mobile and wireless networks.

Held on a major university campus in Europe, The test is an important step towards achieving a full implementation that will provide teachers and students with new options to interact with online resources such as videos, both in the classroom and remotely.

Business collaboration

The test was a collaboration between IPV, Broadcom, Extreme Networks, Intel y Samsung. It has covered a wide variety of bandwidth-intensive and latency-sensitive video use cases in a high-density environment., including 8K video streaming over WiFi 6E network, Fast handover for roaming between mobile and wireless networks and access to online classroom resources for remote learning.

8K video streaming over the WiFi 6E network has been performed using an 8K-enabled device as the streaming platform. Scenarios included remote teaching with HD video in the classroom and simultaneous student access to HD and 8K video for remote learning.

Fast handover for roaming between mobile and WiFi networks allows users to stay connected seamlessly while entering and leaving campus without impacting performance, no matter how many users there are on the network.

Access to online classroom resources for remote learning ensures that students can simultaneously access and interact with the same resources without storage on buffer nor longer delay times.

Test implementation

For this test, Extreme Networks deployed four of its AP4000 access points at a location in 1.400 square meters that IPV uses to host events on campus.

Broadcom, Intel and Samsung provided laptops, smartphones and tablets with 6E chipsets to run the tests.

During the test, Extreme observed a maximum download speed of 1,7 Gbps, which is close to the maximum possible performance of the AP4000. Future testing will be conducted as new devices with 6E chipsets hit the market, including augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) that will allow immersive experiences in the classroom and that will give teachers and students new ways to interact.

The WiFi 6E connection speed demonstrated during the trial will allow IPV to increase its immersive hybrid learning offerings, which is becoming a popular choice for students in Europe.

IPV is a technology-driven university and WiFi 6E will allow it to increase usage for students on and off campus, giving them the skills needed to get a job after graduation. Besides, IPV offers regional WiFi for the municipality of Viseu and WiFi 6E will ensure that it has the necessary bandwidth to offer connectivity to students and local citizens who need it.

IPV is also the first organization in Portugal to participate in WBA OpenRoaming, that allows students, Teachers and other users on campus automatically connect to a WiFi network 6 high speed, secure and carrier-grade wherever they are, indoors and outdoors, without experiencing interruptions to your wireless network connection.

WBA OpenRoaming guarantees seamless handovers from cellular networks to WiFi, with uninterrupted connectivity for users on campus.

During the test, students had no problems transferring between the OpenRoaming network and the WiFi 6E network. At the moment, IPV is exploring the possibility of using it with cellular networks.

“This trial shows how WBA OpenRoaming and WiFi 6E are ideally suited to delivering the types of interactive and immersive learning experiences that are the future of higher education.”. Whether they are all in the same classroom or spread out across the IPV campus, Ensures that teachers and students enjoy the same high-quality, reliable experiences, even with the most demanding applications, including 8K video and AR/VR”, explains Tiago Rodrigues, CEO de Wireless Broadband Alliance.