How N4L helps connect, protect, and support Kiwi schools online
Getting online at home is usually pretty straightforward – just sign up with a provider, plug in your modem, decipher the password, and you’re away. For schools and kura, it’s not quite so simple. You’re dealing with hundreds of usernames and logins, Wi-Fi that needs to reach every corner of your campus, and the safety concerns that come with ākonga online.
This is where N4L’s products and services come in. We’re more than just an internet provider – we offer schools safer, more functional networks to support online learning. This includes – yes – internet services, along with security features, network management, email protection, and ongoing support to help schools and kura keep their networks running smoothly. It’s a wrap-around collection of services designed to meet the ever-changing needs of schools and kura in New Zealand.
Here’s how:
Connect: Faster, more reliable internet services
Whether you’re a student struggling to load a Google doc or a teacher trying to stream a video for your class, patchy, unreliable internet is frustrating. It can also lead to issues like missing documents or incomplete online exams – not ideal for ākonga or kaiako.
N4L’s internet and Wi-Fi services are designed to keep your school or kura online, no matter what you’re doing or where in the school you are. We provide an internet connection with uncapped data and school-wide Wi-Fi – delivered through a network designed just for your school, which we bring to life with new Wi-Fi 6 technology that we’re rolling out to schools. This means fewer buffering issues or slow speeds when a whole class jumps online – and if you do notice a Wi-Fi blind spot or connection hiccup, we’re available to help make sure everything is running smoothly.
Protect: Cybersecurity and safety tools
Online safety is an important consideration for schools and kura. While there’s no way to ensure 100% protection, N4L can support schools to minimise the risks involved. Tools like Web Filtering and SafeSearch enable schools to block inappropriate websites at the source – and if they try to get around the filters using a VPN, we can help schools block that as well.
On the network protection side, products like N4L’s Firewall, DNS Threat Protection and DDoS Protection help identify and block the majority of cyberattacks, threats and malicious activity. Built-in cybersecurity services add another layer of protection – we proactively monitor your network, identify a range of potential threats and vulnerabilities, and support you to resolve any security incidents.
Email Protection is another great scam stopper – identifying phishing scams, spam and other email threats, and blocking many of them before they reach school inboxes. As a result, it’s much less likely for users to click on a risky link or share details with a cyberattacker.
Finally, network access rules and monitoring add even more layers of protection. By requiring a unique identity to join the network and restricting or limiting access by group or individual, you can control who can connect to your network and how they use it via our Secure Access solution.
Support: Monitoring, resources and ongoing assistance
So you’ve got your system up and running, safety tools in place and your network is more secure. But what happens if something goes wrong or isn’t quite working as it should be?
Our support services help you troubleshoot your N4L products and services so you can make the most of your network. They include a dedicated School Relationship Manager who will handle the initial set-up and check in from time to time, and access to our Customer Support team for queries or system changes. We also have a self-service platform for you to DIY some parts of the process – you can see what’s happening on your network and make changes to security settings or network access rules in just a few clicks.
Helping connect, protect and support New Zealand schools
Schools and kura need more than just an internet connection – they need a network that balances safety and access, using built-in security, reliable school-wide connectivity and ongoing support. N4L’s products and services do just that, giving New Zealand schools a smart, simple way to manage their networks.
Want to know more? Talk to the N4L team now.
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