A few weeks before the 2021 school year starts, educational institutions must face the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as integration of new technologies that are increasingly necessary in an educational paradigm that has completely changed in the last few months. 

For the requirements of Education 4.0, traditional networks become stressed, as well as the infrastructure that supports them; large amounts of equipment, dedicated technical rooms, high operational energy consumption and even ventilation and air conditioning systems. The new reality requires solutions capable of facing current and future educational challenges and, at the same time, offer a “green” alternative for an increasingly sustainable world. 

It is very important to have communication networks that respond to the demands of hyperconnectivity in the classrooms of universities, colleges and schools. A high-rate single-mode fiber-based network combined with high-tech, optical transmission and the use of optical splitters will allow a single fiber to serve dozens of network users, with full control. 

This type of technology eliminates the need for access and distribution network switches, which generally consume a lot of energy and require special infrastructure and care. Thus, energy consumption is drastically reduced, on average between 40% and 70%, and dedicated equipment, generators, UPS and air conditioning are also removed from the network.

In terms of saving space, technical rooms are no longer necessary and can be used for other purposes, such as classrooms, laboratories and study rooms, generating an efficient reuse of spaces. In addition, single-mode fiber optics, with a range of up to 20 kilometers, offer significant advantages to large university campuses, allowing all networks to be controlled from a single location, regardless of distance.

Finally, it is worth noting the ecological component of these solutions that use 87% less plastic than traditional networks, representing a significant reduction in the infrastructure´s impact on the environment. This factor, combined with a reduction of up to 70% in energy consumption and saving up to 89% of space, makes this connectivity technology more eco-friendly.