Elgin Community College Selects Bluesocket for Campus-Wide Wireless Deployment

BURLINGTON, Mass. - October 18, 2006 - Bluesocket, Inc., (www.bluesocket.com) the leader in open wireless network, security and management solutions, today announced that Elgin Community College (ECC), located in Elgin, Ill., has deployed a full-scale wireless LAN network using BlueSecure technology. The new system provides secure wireless access to students, faculty, staff and visitors, helping the college to be an even stronger foundation in the local community.

Because ECC functions as a local information hub, thousands of students and community members visit the college campus every month to take advantage of its many resources. In order to accommodate these visitors, college officials decided to deploy a wireless network but struggled to find an affordable solution that provided strong security and ease of management abilities. However, in August, after evaluating a number of wireless solutions, the college's IT staff found what it needed and unanimously agreed to purchase and implement Bluesocket's BlueSecure 2100 Controller (BSC2100) and BlueSecure Access Point (AP) 1500 solution.

"We were sold on Bluesocket because its AP combined the sensor and antenna, unlike other vendor APs, and its Controller offered a wide range of user authentication and management capabilities," said Michael Chahino, director of network operations at ECC. "Right away, we knew we made the right choice - the products basically support themselves. I like to brag about the fact that we haven't had any issues with the network so far and that students are able to connect and use the Internet without assistance. That's a huge benefit because it cuts down on our small IT staff's overwhelming support burdens."

In August, the ECC IT staff deployed 31 BlueSecure APs throughout the 145-acre campus, in addition to a downtown campus site located four miles away, all of which are managed by one BlueSecure Controller. The Controller uses real-time monitoring of users' data to scan for threats and viruses, as well as identifies rogue APs, on both of the network's virtual LAN subnets - one of which is for student and visitor use, the other for staff use.

"I am always looking for new and innovative ways to enrich students' learning experiences. This semester, I was able to leverage the new wireless network to make my classroom curriculum even more visual and interactive," said Tim Kaar, graphic design professor at ECC. "In addition, the new network makes it easier for my students to work with online course content, interact with fellow participants and submit their completed projects in a timely manner. It smoothes the path toward their learning goals and prepares them for the digital age in which we live."

ECC's IT staff plans to enhance the wireless network to included video-streaming capabilities for college-related events such as ECC sporting events and student government speeches. Also, depending on the faculty's demand for wireless network access, they will connect the BSC2100 to an internal directory that will make it easier for faculty to access the secure network.

About Bluesocket

Founded in 1999, Bluesocket is a leader in open, standards based enterprise mobility solutions. Bluesocket is the first company to deliver an enterprise communication solution that unifies secure wireless LAN, SIP-based enterprise Voice over IP and fixed mobile convergence. Its complete wireless network and voice solution portfolio bring trust and simplicity to increasingly complex wireless networks maximizing customer ROI and increasing their competitive edge. For more information, please visit http://www.bluesocket.com.

Bluesocket, the Bluesocket logo and BlueSecure are trademarks or registered trademarks of Bluesocket, Inc. All other trademarks, trade names and company names referenced herein are used for identification only and are the property of their respective companies.

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