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Super Speed I.T. Connection On Track

Students and staff at GippsTAFE and other partners in the Gippsland Education Precinct (GEP) will soon enjoy extremely fast IT connections, thanks to a project unique in Australia.

By GippsTAFE - 11th June 2004 - Back to News

A fibre optic cable capacity is being constructed in association with the Vic Track fast rail upgrade. Overall the fibre will span from Melbourne to Traralgon feeding out to key points throughout the Latrobe Valley and will be used in the first instance by the GEP partners.

Apart from GippsTAFE, other GEP partners include Monash University Gippsland, Gippsland Group Training, and Kurnai Secondary College.

The progress of the installation was outlined at a function last week (Thursday 27 May) held at the Waratah Restaurant at GippsTAFE's Mid Valley campus.

GippsTAFE staff and students will be amongst the first to gain major benefits from the system, as it will link the Warragul, Yallourn and Morwell campuses as well as the Churchill GEP campus when it is completed.

The system will provide information transfer at a speed of one gigabyte per second – more than 20,000 times faster than a normal phone connection – between campuses.

It is believed to be the first such system designed and built by a non-carrier.

Project Manager for the Infrastructure Project, GippsTAFE’s Manager Computer Services, Rosemary Burns, said the system was unique, providing a fully switched network across a wide geographical area. The end result is being described as a "Wide LAN" (Local Area Network).

"It will provide a virtual presence between all the GEP partners as well as high speed transfer of information between campuses," she said.

"We are currently developing a Portal for our students providing a Virtual Learning Space (VLS), for both local and remote access students and staff.

Ms Burns added that the system had been developed with exceptional support from a consulting team, Melbourne-based Company ADX2, and works contractor - DESA, who have performed the rollout of cable and networking equipment.

"VicTrack has also been extremely helpful in moving the project forward and partnering with GippsTAFE to provide a sophisticated solution for our end-users," she added. Local Government from both the Latrobe Valley and Baw Baw shires have also been extremely supportive as they can see the potential benefits for the region.

The project was developed very quickly following the announcement of the GEP and the fast rail upgrade, which is now taking place between the Latrobe Valley and Pakenham.

Ms Burns said: "It has come about through that funding and we have been able to leverage off GippsTAFE’s existing infrastructure.

"There will be potential for other schools and perhaps even small businesses to use the system eventually," she added.

The system is scheduled to be operational by GippsTAFE and some of the other GEP partners around the middle of the year.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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